University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 4/1996 Chorus makes Carnegie Hall debut Carnegie Hall, here we come!" was the cry of 23 alumni and 13 faculty and staff and students as their choral group Jubilieren performed at the world-famous institution on Mother's Day, May 12. The group of amateur, Delaware-based musicians from various professions and other singers from Delaware and surrounding states performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the New York Youth Symphony. The symphony was conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, music director. Peter J. McCarthy, UD associate professor of music, conductor of the UD Orchestra and Jubilierien artistic director, led the choir. Thoughts of a collaboration between Jubilieren and the New York Youth Symphony began about six years ago when Harth-Bedoya and McCarthy met as fellow students of Otto-Werner Mueller in Philadelphia. Details were worked out in the summer of 1995. A much larger choir than the usual 30-35 member Jubilieren was needed to perform the Ninth Symphony, resulting in the recruitment of singers from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. A total of 85 singers was assembled for the May performance. McCarthy started rehearsing the singers in January, and Harth-Bedoya came to Newark for two rehearsals with the choir and also held a master class for the UD Orchestra on April 15. Rehearsals and two concerts were held in New York with the New York Youth Symphony in late April and on the day before the event. According to Marianna Preston, Delaware '73, assistant to the director at UD's Office of Public Relations and choir member, "The choir, orchestra, soloists and conductors received a standing ovation and five curtain calls. It was really a dream come true. To perform on that world-famous stage was both an honor and a thrill." "The concert was exquisite," says Adele Knopf, Delaware '70. "The hall was breathtaking. It was exciting to sing for such a large and appreciative audience."