Peoria Symphony Orchestra Concert!

On Friday, September 23rd, the Peoria Symphony Orchestra under the baton of George Stelluto performed “A Walk Down Broadway”. It was great being back at the Civic Center, I used to sing at the Civic Center from 4th-8th grade when I was in the Peoria Area Youth Chorus. Five singers: Myself, Ryan Lanning, Barbara Couri, Michael Reams, and Tom Mindock were selected from the Peoria and Chicago area to share their broadway hits. I thought it a was a great show and the audience seemed to love it even more as they gave us numerous standing ovations throughout the evening.
After the intermission, I came on stage to sing “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady and “Memory” from Cats. Following “Memory” the entire audience stood in applause which was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had! That is the greatest reward for any performer.
At the end of the show, Ryan and I sang the famous West Side Story duet, “One Hand, One Heart” which begins with wedding vows. The audience loved this sang as well and gave us another standing ovation and then all five of us closed by singing “Somwhere”.
The biggest challenge for me was working with the microphones and remembering to turn them on and off for all my selections. I’m simply use to the opera world of using your own natural voice projection.
I’m so grateful to all my friends and family that came to the concert! We celebrated at Jonah’s Restaurant in East Peoria, which was also where all the soloists met up. Over all, an exhausting and wonderful day!