Carnegie Hall, The Lion King, Little Women, Fiddler on the Roof, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks, Regis and Kelly, China Town....just to name a few (and not nearly all!) of the wonderful sights we fell in love with on our trip to New York!  I take students each spring to sing with a mass Youth Chorale and mass Children's Chorale. They meet other honor students from all over the United States while performing on the stage of one of the top five performance halls in the world!  This thrill is not matched by many things in the life of a student! The lives of the students, as well as the adults will never be the same. This year, 14 people traveled to New York from our Music School for this event. There were 138 students in the Children's Chorale.  These students had the exciting opportunity to see why New York is called "the city that never sleeps!" The days preceding the finale performance at Carnegie Hall were filled with rehearsals, shopping, touring, subways, open-top big red buses, street vendors, street performers, and the infamous yellow cabs!

The six songs they performed were:
“Music, Spread Thy Voice Around” G. F. Handel
“Jordan's Angels,” Rollo Dilworth
“Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen,” Ruth Elaine Schram
“Brothers, Sisters Join Hands”, Earlene Rentz
“Sing for Joy, Alleluia!,” Sally K. Albrecht
“Little Liza,” Folksong arranged by Ken Berg

 The life of a young person is formed by the experiences they encounter. It is our responsibility, as adults, to guide our young people in a direction that will include quality experiences that will be of benefit not only in the present, but for a lifetime! This is my seventh year to take young people to Carnegie Hall to perform with a mass youth chorale.  I am constantly meeting people on the street who share with me how still fresh in their mind is the experience of singing at Carnegie Hall. This experience is so different than performing solo. This experience gives you a feeling of unity with mankind. It also gives you a sense of discipline in that you are not only learning the songs for our studio, but also for a presentation of wholeness for students from the entire US!   As young people arrive from California, Florida, Washington to Texas, there is a sense of "coming together." Each year, my students make friends from all over the country that will last a lifetime. The main component I love about these chorales is that there are no big "I's" and little "you's."  Everyone is the same. Everyone matters equally; no matter what religion or race.  This is definitely a very positive experience in the life of a child and I am most honored to have a part in each of their lives.

Heather Steward, Private Voice & Show Choir Student

Mrs. Allen, Over the past three years that I have been taking voice lessons from you, I have learned so much and now have such a love for music.  You always believed in me, even when I would forget to practice my songs.  You brought the best out of me and are one of the main reasons I have so many wonderful opportunities in music.  When I was in “Etowah Live!” I made friends that I will never forget and I even got to sing at Carnegie Hall!  It would have never have been possible without you.  Before I came to your studio, the thought of being on Broadway or getting accepted to my dream college had never crossed my mind. But with your patience, encouragement and, most importantly faith, that dream doesn’t seem out of the question.  I am forever grateful to you, and I hope that God blesses you in all the things you do.