88 students from the Upper School choirs ventured to Carnegie Hall to sing an assortment of songs in front of a packed house on Sunday, Feb. 17.

Carnegie Hall is where great composers like Peter Tchaikovsky to The Beatles affirmed their status as some of the world’s most talented musicians, and as such, US Choral Activities director Anne Klus is extremely proud of her choirs. They key to performing, according to Klus, was to “practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more.”

St. Paul Academy and Summit School first performed at Carnegie Hall in 2005. SPA was invited back in 2009. This year marks the choir’s third appearance. Though SPA provided the largest group of singers, they sang Schubert’s Mass in G Minor alongside schools from Kansas and Jacksonville, Florida.

Rehearsals were “long and grueling, [but helped] us to connect with the other choirs,” senior member of Summit Singers Chloe Hite said.

The students were also granted the opportunity to see sights like the Empire State Building and the Museum of Natural History, as well as seeing acclaimed musicals like Newsies, Once, Chicago and Wicked.

On the trip, students had the opportunity to visit famous museums, see Newsies on the Broadway stage, and tour the city. The performance on Sunday was a smashing success, with parents and faculty alike being wowed.