What is the official name of your choir?
We are known as the Independence (MO) Messiah Choir. As our name implies, we simply perform the oratorio, Messiah.
Who is your conductor?
Last year was Maestro Jack Ergo’s 20th year conducting. This year Jack will be our rehearsal conductor. Simon Preston will be our guest conductor. He is the person who put the choir together for the Christopher Hogwood recording. We are starting a search for our next conductor, because Jack has taken a position at Graceland University.
Where do you perform?
In the Community of Christ Auditorium, at the headquarters of the denomination called Community of Christ. The building holds about 5800 people. It is a stunning oval structure with wonderful acoustics.
Do you sing anyplace else?
We’re a choir for three months every fall. However, in 1996, we started taking the choir on a few trips. We went to England and Wales and sang in Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral. We sang with a couple of Welsh men’s groups and took about 80 people. In 1998 we took 60 to Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia and sang in several cathedrals. The Carnegie Hall trip took place in 2000.
How many people are in the choir?
We have between 300 and 350 people and usually sing for a sold-out crowd. We started in 1916, so last year was our 86th annual performance. About 15 percent of our members are choir directors or soloists in churches, but the vast majority are amateurs. We also draw from professional chorales in the area. We set a very high bar when we audition; we expect people to know the piece or be excellent sight-readers. We pull from the greater Kansas City metro area, but also central Iowa, Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and eastern and southern Missouri. We have a few real aficionados—people who fly in from other states.
When do you start rehearsing?
We rehearse every Monday, 7 to 9:30, from mid-September until the performance, which takes place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We don’t do a lot of note-picking, because we probably only have 30 or 40 new people every year. (Some have sung with us for over 40 years!) Jack has produced a set of rehearsal tapes for each section with his own instructions. We also have marked scores with the basic markings and our unique marks. New people are expected to transfer Jack’s markings to their own score.
What is the cost?
Free—choristers just buy or rent their outfits. The men rent matching tuxes at a discount. The women have to buy their own matching formals but we try to be really accommodating. We tell them we don’t want them to not sing because of cost, so sometimes we help.
How many soloists do you hire a year?
We hire the four soloists for Messiah. We have some managers who know what we are looking for. With this huge space and “Baroque-bounce” ideas Jack has, we have very special needs. We always keep our ear to the ground, and people in the choir have recommendations.
How did you get the idea to do the Carnegie MidAmerica Tour?
We first started talking to Manhattan Productions. They could give us better package prices but couldn’t put us in Carnegie Hall immediately after our Independence concert when we were rehearsed and had our outfits. They could put us at Lincoln Center, but the choir didn’t want to go anyplace but Carnegie Hall. Carnegie is the shining light of American concert halls. The choir really wanted to go to Carnegie Hall. Someone from Manhattan Productions came to our concert in 1999. Here we are in nowhere, Missouri, and we’re this huge production. We knocked him back on his heels. He said he was trying to get the dates we wanted, but he couldn’t.
So I got on the phone with MidAmerica, sent them a videotape of our concert, and had a conference call. We told them we wanted to perform Friday evening after Thanksgiving. They said “no way.” But then they called back and said, “Arlo Guthrie just let go of Friday night, and you’ve got it. We need your deposit money!” People don’t know how we did that, but we tell them, “get used to it; things always fall into place for us.”
Did you have to share the concert with another choir?
Before MidAmerica figured us out, they did try to put us with other choirs and have us do half a concert, but there was barely room for our group on stage!
What orchestra did you perform with?
We used the New England Symphonic Ensemble. They were very good. Jack had a chance to watch them and meet them ahead of time.
So you came to New York prior to the concert?
MidAmerica takes you on a familiarization trip ahead of time. Jack and I and the two travel agents from Independence who did all the booking went on Memorial Day weekend. We saw the hotel and the rehearsal space, and Jack and I had a chance to sit in on a couple of rehearsals and meet the MidAmerica personnel.
How far in advance did you contact MidAmerica?
We had initially contacted them a couple of years before but had begun negotiations with Manhattan Productions because their fees were better. But they could not put us in Carnegie when we wanted, so we contacted MidAmerica again in January of 2000.
What were you hoping to gain?
Because we perform Messiah each year, Jack has always been adamant about trying to keep the performance new and different. We use new soloists, new choruses to keep it new for audiences and singers. Part of the reason we started touring was to build the sense of camaraderie and freshness. The Carnegie Hall tour was a pipe dream that a lot of people had, but not too many people seriously think they’ll ever get to sing at Carnegie Hall!
How was the airline?
We flew on twelve different flights. It was a huge logistical thing. A choir member owns our travel agency. They worked with MidAmerica’s travel agency in New York.
How was the hotel?
We were in the Grand Hyatt. MidAmerica put other groups there, and they were coming in and out. None of the elevators were working while we were there, but on the whole it was fine.
MidAmerica provided us with two people to help us get around. They’d make sure everyone got on the busses when they were supposed to. It was nice, because there were always questions that needed answering. We had already assigned “shepherds” over each group of our choir but it kept us in touch with MidAmerica.
What did you do about meals?
Everyone was on their own except for the Thanksgiving Dinner. On the familiarization trip we scouted out restaurants. We sent out four newsletters which, among other things, suggested restaurants and told people prices. The one big problem we had was arranging a Thanksgiving dinner. MidAmerica had hooked us up with someone who arranged large dinners, but she turned out to be quite unpleasant to work with, and the dinner was a nightmare. It took two and a half hours to get 350 choristers through the buffet.
Who were your soloists?
MidAmerica requested that we use soloists from a list that they provided, so we chose four to do the concert with us in Independence and then the second concert in Carnegie Hall six days later. They were Christina Suh—Soprano, Joyce Ottinger—Mezzo, Charles Reid—Tenor, and Jeffrey Ray—Baritone. While we contracted them for the Independence concert, they were actually contracted and paid by the production company for the Carnegie concert.
What was it like being in Carnegie Hall?
I had never been to New York before the familiarization trip. MidAmerica took us to a couple of concerts. For the concert they put us box seats, with the stage straight ahead. We walked in to red velvet and the mirrored anteroom. I kept saying, “Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, what I am doing here?” It literally took my breath away! Jack, however, was in his element.
It was overwhelming. The history, the musicians, the traditions—and we were going to be part of that? I just sat there amazed during the concert. It is such an awe-inspiring place. You look at the wall hangings, and you go into the museum and the gift shop and see play bills from different performances, and it’s a who’s who of the music world. The ghosts are almost palpable.
How well was your concert promoted?
MidAmerica took care of the PR. They put two huge posters outside Carnegie Hall with pictures of the choir and of Jack. We also gave them a mailing list of 1500-1600 people in the New England area. They had cut-rate tickets to the concert until November fourth. After that, the tickets were sold directly through Carnegie Hall at the regular price. They put a notice in the New York Times. Carnegie Hall put it in their flyers and on their website.
What were the costs in 2000?
$849 a person, quad occupancy in the hotel—more if you want fewer people in your room. Airfare is not included. Our travel agency and I were responsible for keeping track of all the jockeying as people changed their minds. The director gets free land and free air. He’s the only one. When there are 20 paying registrants, the director gets his or her package free. When there are 20 more, there is an additional free land package, but you have to pay for the airfare. After that, there is an additional land package free for every 40 registrants. Some people chose to drive.
What happened when someone had to cancel?
We told them up front that there were no refunds. But a few times there were emergencies that happened. We had so many people wanting to go, if someone had an emergency, we traded their name out for another name. I’m not sure MidAmerica knew about that, but I just did it.
How many days?
We flew there on Wednesday, and with 12 flights, it took all day to get everyone there. Thursday was an afternoon choir-only rehearsal in the ballroom at the hotel and the ill-fated Thanksgiving dinner.
How did the day of the concert go?
Friday afternoon was the dress rehearsal with orchestra. MidAmerica kept pressing us to have the rehearsal back-to-back with the performance. We said no. We have elderly people who can’t do it. They didn’t charge extra to have a break in between. Friday night was the concert. The gift shop is tiny, and everyone wanted souvenirs. So of course our choir had to take turns being in the gift shop.
The conductor’s suite was amazing! It has a wet bar, two rooms, a grand piano, names and photos of famous people on the wall. Our conductor was in his element, while I was trying to make sure everyone’s zippers worked! I took extra ties and cumber bunds, skirts, tops, scores, everything we could think of that someone might need. We were fixing torn hems right beforehand.
How did the actual concert go?
It was a stunning concert. We’d been very picky about the choir’s behavior on stage—this is when you open your book, you don’t look at anyone else but the soloists when they are singing, etc. Every muscle in every chorister’s body did the same thing. It was one huge corporate body, spiritually, physically and musically. We got a huge standing ovation at the end. That night our conductor was the best I’ve ever seen him. He always conducts without a score, but this was his best night ever.
Did you get a review?
No reviewers came. We were told that it is nearly impossible to get a review in New York.
How well was your concert attended?
We sold out Carnegie Hall! Who would think that? Here we were from Podunk. We were there at the beginning of the Christmas season. Even if tourists didn’t know who was doing it, they came because it was Messiah. Members of our church from all over the US met us there, plus people who just wandered in.
What did you do after the concert?
Everyone was feeling this incredible buzz, so no one was tired. MidAmerica had nine busses waiting for the choir, spouses and friends (500 people) and we just left in our formal wear for a buffet boat ride with a live band. It is part of MidAmerica’s package. The boat took us down past the Statue of Liberty. We had this huge boat all to ourselves and didn’t get back till 2 AM. We had Saturday to recover and do some sightseeing, and we flew back on Sunday.
What did you gain as a result of doing the concert?
We gained a memory that the choir people will always have. Most of them thought they would never get to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It reassured them of how good we are. You know you’re good, but when you’re in a space like that, it all comes together.
Any disasters or near-disasters?
The Thanksgiving dinner was a disaster, but the choir is made up of good people and we just went on despite the problems. The other thing that happened was that one group ended up having their flight cancelled on the way home, and the “shepherd” from the choir had to find them a hotel.
What was the biggest headache for you?
The whole thing was a huge challenge. The logistics. Someone would say, “I’m a diabetic.” Someone else would say, “I can’t go this day, I have to go another day.” Physically taking care of all these people was enormous, although we had doctors with us. Most of the work took place before we went. I ended up having to do a lot more supervising of the travel agency than I had planned, because everyone had his or her own peculiarity. I had to double-check the arrangements person by person, because people kept changing their minds about roommate arrangements or dates. I never got to go sightseeing, but the trip couldn’t have been more amazingly perfect. No one got mugged. A lot of them had never been to New York, and a lot of them were older. I had tattooed my cell phone number on everyone and told them, “You call me if anything goes wrong!”
What do you wish you’d done differently?
I wish we’d gone someplace else for Thanksgiving dinner!
Would you do it again?
We’re going to have to get another conductor in place, and then maybe we’ll talk about it. The choir wants to go to the Kennedy Center and some other places.
A lot of people kept saying on the way home from Carnegie Hall, “When are we going to do this again?” Perhaps it was just that I was exhausted, but I’d say to them very, very quickly, “This was a once in a lifetime event!”
