The Chorale Club is fundraising in order to travel across the country to New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
El Camino professor and Director of Choral Activities Dr. Joanna Medawar Nachef will be conducting a piece at the hall in May 2018 and plans to take around 20 students to accompany her on the trip.
“I have done (this trip) five times already since 2005 and this is my sixth conducting appearance, so I normally raise money to take students of mine who cannot afford to make this happen,” Nachef said.
Students apart of Chorale Club are raising moneys in various ways, according to Nachef.
“We do performances like the variety show coming up. They do a theme and they showcase their talents,” Nachef said. “It is soloist, duets, ensembles and it’s inviting the whole community, student body (of ElC).”
Another way that the club is raising money is through the selling of See’s chocolate bars.
According to Nachef, she has purchased over $2700 worth of chocolate bars so far.
“We sell these candy bars across the campus and we’ll do that on a regular basis for the coming fall and spring semester and you’ll see them running around carrying boxes and selling chocolates,” Nachef said.
Chorale Club member Renaissance Austin was first introduced to Carnegie Hall after her uncle showed her Billie Holiday’s “Lady Sings the Blues” performance when she was 12 years old.
“If you made it to Carnegie Hall, you made it,” Austin said.
First year Chorale Club member, Joey Flint, 19, theatre major, hopes to make the idea of going to Carnegie Hall a reality.
“The idea is a cloud in the sky, I just want to walk up there,” Flint said. “It feels so incredible that I am so close to doing that.”
Another member of the club, Abraham Cervantes, 27, music education major, performed at the hall in the past but hopes to relive the experiences he had with the Chorale Club.
“I went my freshmen year of high school with my brother and my sister and our choir, and walking on the stage from the back was indescribable,” Cervantes said. “To go again with a whole new group of people, a whole family and group of friends would be incredible.”
According to Chorale member Kreli Washington, 26, theatre arts major, students wishing to purchase candy from club members can find them in Music Room 134 on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s from 11:15 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Nachef believes that every student deserves a chance to go on the trip whether they can afford it or not.
“The students who are unable to pay for this trip, which costs almost $2000, does not mean they are not worthy of being supported,” Nachef said. “(Not being) elite doesn’t mean they’re not deserving, talented, and certainly needing our support.”
Chorale Club will be hosting a “Battle of the Sexes Variety Show” on Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and can be bought from Chorale Club members directly.