Editor's note: GA's Singing Patriots and Singing Patriots Select choirs recently took local and regional trips. Below, PatChat writer Vinit J. '19 recaps his experiences.
I, along with Singing Patriots Select, had the
wonderful opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the Sixers-Hawks game on
January 7th at the Wells Fargo Center! It was such a mind-blowing thing for me
to do, partially because it was my first time going to a basketball game!
The Singing Patriots Select at Wells Fargo Center.
I had butterflies in my stomach from on the way
to the arena to after we left! It was so cool to be able to go down to the
court level and just see the players in their shootaround. After rehearsing in
the tunnel several times, we were lead onto the court to sing. It was cool to
be up close with the players, even though I did not get to say hello to them.
When singing the National Anthem, it felt pretty fascinating to have light
shine only on us while everywhere else was pitch black, pin-drop silence as we
sang. I heard a roaring applause when we finished, and that may have been the
coolest feeling to ever experience! I was then able to witness my first ever
live basketball game, and I wondered why I had not gone to one sooner!
Singing the National Anthem at my first
basketball game was one of the coolest things I have ever done! It really was a
once in a lifetime opportunity!
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Earlier this month, the Singing Patriots and I
took a thrilling trip to New York City.
On our first night, we got to see the musical Finding
Neverland. It was based around the author of the story Peter Pan and
how he based the story off of people he knew in real life. The show was
powerful yet moving and that has to have been one of the best musicals I have
seen so far! I especially loved the number “Circus of Your Mind” and the
ending number of the first act, “Stronger”.
The next day, we got to do a musical dance
workshop with one of the actors/choreographers of Finding Neverland,
probably the coolest thing to ever do as a fan of Broadway! We first sang one
of the musical numbers, “Believe”, several times before having to
memorize it. Then came the exciting part - dancing. Although a bit tricky at
first, we got it down pretty quickly, and it was amazing just to do it as a
group! It was a moment to mess up, laugh with one another, and have a good
time.
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| At the workshop after seeing Finding Neverland. |
Then came the highlight of the entire of trip. I
can still vividly picture what it was like inside the magnificent Cathedral
Church of Saint John the Divine, one of the 5 largest church buildings
worldwide.
Just gazing at the architecture was breathtaking. The choir had the
opportunity to sing inside the cathedral, and it was probably one of the most
beautiful experiences I have ever partaken in my life so far! As I sung amidst
the choir, I noticed that I could not hear the voices of others who were
singing behind me, even though they were singing at the same volume as they
always would. And when we paused after singing a note, the reverb of our voices
would last a good 5 seconds. Had the Cathedral not been surrounded by tons of
snow, the reverb would last 9 seconds! The choir and I were stunned by the
beauties the cathedral withheld.
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| The Singing Patriot inside the Cathedral. |
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| The view from One World Trade Center. |
After that, we got to have a bird’s eye view as
we viewed the city on top of the One World Trade Center. I could have stayed up
there forever! It’s not every day you get to stand on top of the tallest
building in NYC. It was thrilling to stand right next to a window and look
straight down! Something cool happened when the sun was just about to set on
the horizon; people took time-lapses on their phones so that when they
replayed them, they’d see a full sunset! I cherished every moment up there. This
trip was a very great experience for us Singing Patriots and will not be
something we will forget anytime soon!
~ Vinit J. '19
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