From NJ to Carnegie Hall: Conductor Beth Prins and the National High School Choral Festival

HAWTHORNE, NJ — Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute recently announced the four choruses selected for its 2013 National High School Choral Festival (NHSCF), a one-of-a-kind program culminating in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and world-renowned conductor John Nelson on Saturday, April 20, 2013.  Below, conductor Beth Prins of the New Jersey Home Schoolers Chorale (NJHSA) based in Hawthorne, New Jersey, shares insight about the music scene in Hawthorne, her chorus’s pre-concert rituals, and what she’s looking forward to most about next spring’s performance at Carnegie Hall.

What does it mean to you, your choir, and your community to be accepted into this program?

We are thrilled to be part of the 2012 National High School Choral Festival at Carnegie Hall! Most of our families place a great importance on the arts and are keenly aware of the honor it is to be selected for this program.