Next spring the Glen Cove High School Select Chorale will be traveling across the pond to perform a concert series in London.
“I am incredibly proud of our students and our program for receiving this amazing opportunity,” said Edward Norris, the school’s director of choral music.
Norris has been the director of the program for 22 years. Since he started, he says students have shown impressive motivation and performance.
“Glen Cove has always had a great and thriving performing arts program. However, in the last 22 years I have seen the students mature and grow into fine young choral musicians,” he said.
He said this year’s students have impressed him with their dedication and skillset. The Select Chorale has 36 students who will be traveling to London for the concert tour.
“Students in this group do things with their music that I never would have imagined possible,” Norris said. “They are such high-level thinkers and musicians and it is truly an honor to be associated with them!”
The concert series is in collaboration with Vox Anima London, an organization that promotes cultural exchange through music education and performance.
Norris said he collaborated with Vox Anima’s executive director, Jamie Meaders, in 2015 when the choir performed at Lincoln Center.
“The Chorale and I had the best time singing under his leadership,” he said. “He moved to London shortly thereafter and started Vox Anima, which holds choral festivals several times throughout the year and brings in choirs from all over the world.”
The concert tour this spring has been long-awaited, Norris said.
“We have been trying to collaborate for several years now, and with this opportunity and this particular group from GCHS, everything just fell into place,” he said. “It just felt right.”
This is the choir’s second international tour. The previous tour was in 2016, when the group performed throughout Rome.
“Our singers are so special and we are thrilled to be able to once again shine on an international stage,” Norris said.
To prepare for their upcoming trip, the Select Chorale will prepare 14 pieces to perform under Norris’ direction and two hours of music to perform under different directors. When in London, the group will perform at four different venues, including Cadogan Hall, Norris said.
“It is the largest amount of music that we have ever had to learn in one year,” he said.
The choir will perform at famous and historic venues, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, in addition to Cadogan Hall.
“It is such a wonderful opportunity for all of us to grow as musicians and people,” Norris said.
Despite large-scale performances and recognition, Norris said that his favorite aspect of his role is the day-to-day.
“As for moments that stick out, you think I would say singing for a sitting president or pope, but the day-to-day with the choirs is what sticks out to me.”
The ability to help his students develop and hone their skills, he says, is one of the most important aspects of his job.
“The best part of my job are the students that I get to spend every day with,” he said. “I get to watch their faces light up with excitement when they hear a new piece that we are going to sing and then see the jubilation when we rehearse and it all starts to come together.”
In London, the choral students will have the opportunity to immerse hemselves in British culture and sight-see in the city, district officials said.
“This opportunity is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our music program students and faculty in the Fine and Performing Arts department,” the district coordinator of fine and performing arts, Lawrence Nadel, said.
For more information and updates on the upcoming tour, please visit www.glencoveschools.org.
“I love, and am so fortunate to have the ability to create art with the super talented students at Glen Cove High School,” Norris said.