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OK Carnegie Hall, the TSU Meistersingers are headed your way!

Yes, choral groups have Christmas wish lists too. And what a joy when what is hoped for comes sooner than expected. Such is the case for the TSU Meistersingers.

Eleven members of TSU’s premier chamber choral ensemble are set to participate in a festival performance with MidAmerican Productions at Carnegie Hall in New York City next May. It is a first for the Meistersingers.

Singers dream of performing at Carnegie Hall with professional orchestras in front of thousands. With the opportunity in hand, the TSU Meistersingers are raising $20,000 to make the trip.

Dr. Angelica Dunsavage, TSU’s director of Choral Activities, is as excited as her students. It also will be her first Carnegie Hall performance.

“To be able to do a work, especially with a professional orchestra on the stage of Carnegie Hall, is going to be a really amazing experience for the students. … We would like the community’s help to be able to get us there.”

Dunsavage said the experience will open doors to endless possibilities for the students and their careers.

Dr. Angelica Dunsavage (left), TSU’s director of Choral Activities, and a few of the TSU Meistersingers students after a performance at McKendree United Methodist Church in downtown Nashville. (Photo: TSU News Service)

TSU senior Dominic Davidson of Hendersonville said he has dreamed of performing at Carnegie Hall since childhood.

“As a choir, we have always wanted this kind of opportunity,” the voice major said. “We love singing, we love music, and we love the power that singing gives us and brings to others.”

A tenor, Davidson said performing at Carnegie Hall will give him a new level of confidence and a greater appreciation for his gift of singing.

Knoxville sophomore Marla Lowery has been hitting notes since elementary school but has never performed before an audience of thousands.

“This will be exciting,” said Lowery, who sings alto and is studying political science. “It will be great to network with other schools and to see how orchestras practice up until the actual performance day.”

Rhameek Nelson, a senior music education major, noted that the experience will be an opportunity to better his education and bring exposure to HBCUs.

“TSU has never done anything like this before,” said Nelson of Georgia. “This will take our choir to the next level. The experience will show that … people who look just like me will have the same opportunity here at TSU.

“I chose TSU, and now they chose me to travel and perform to Carnegie Hall…. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The choir has raised $3,500 by performing at cooperate and church events, along with small fundraisers on campus.

The $20,000 will cover airfare, housing and participation for the Carnegie Hall performance. The students are slated to stay in New York for the event May 10-14, 2023.

(To make a donation or sponsor a student, visit Meistersingers Fund (tnstate.edu). For more information contact, Dr. Dunsavage at [email protected].)

Below is the TSU Meistersingers’ final performance of the fall semester.

Note: This story is based upon reports by the TSU News Service.

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