The big time: Springfield Community Chorus invited to sing at Carnegie Hall

For choir singers, being asked to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City is like being invited to have tea with the Queen of England.

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The big time: Springfield Community Chorus invited to sing at Carnegie Hall Family members in chorus fundraising for $25,000 trip By CAMERON PAQUETTE | Oct 10, 2015 Share on print Share on facebook Share on tumblr Share on twitter More Sharing Services 0 Photo by: Cameron Paquette (From left to right) Tucker Stoodley enjoys a cup of tea with her granddaughter Caithness Cammarata and daughter Nicki Carmody behind the family's home in Springfield, Vermont. SPRINGFIELD — For choir singers, being asked to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City is like being invited to have tea with the Queen of England. That’s what Tucker Stoodley, of Springfield, Vermont, her daughter, Nicki Carmody, and granddaughter, Caithness Cammarata, along with 20-25 members of the Springfield Community Chorus will do if they can raise the necessary funds by early December. “This chorus is such a professional chorus,” said Stoodley. “Springfield has got something with this that I don’t even think they know about.” On June 3, chorus director Kenneth Olsson received a letter from the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) asking Olsson and the chorus to perform Mozart’s “Requiem” on Feb. 15, 2016 — President’s Day Weekend — as part of the DCINY Concert Series at Carnegie Hall in New York City. For 15-year-old Cammarata, a sophomore at Springfield High School and the youngest member of the 40-45 member chorus, this is the latest in a series of steps she has taken to further her dreams of being a career vocalist. Carmody and Stoodley were impressed with Cammarata’s voice from a very young age, noting how full it was even when she started at the age of five. “Here’s a 15-year-old girl who’s going to have tea with the queen at Carnegie Hall,” said Carmody, who is fully behind Cammarata’s dream. “We want to pursue a career for Cait, she wants it.” DCINY reached out to the chorus after a member of the organization viewed a video on Youtube of the chorus singing “Requiem.” The organization liked the chorus’ rendition of the piece so much, they sent a letter to Olsson expressing “excitement about the prospect” of including the Springfield Community Chorus at the 2016 concert. To get there, Carmody, Cammarata and Stoodley have taken it upon themselves to organize fundraising events to get the $25,000 needed for the group to attend. Their first fundraising event will be a pumpkin sale/bake sale to take place this weekend at Great River Outfitters during Harpoon Brewery’s Ocktoberfest on Oct. 10-11 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Carmody is planning another bake sale with a raffle at Shaw’s in Springfield the following weekend, Saturday Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A musical family With three generations participating in the same community chorus, it goes without saying that the family has a musical streak. “We’re a really musical family,” said Cammarata. “Grandma started out with the classical music. We used to listen to it all the time.” Stoodley is pleased that her daughter and granddaughter have kept the music bug going through the generations. “I scarred my children. I’d take them shopping and I’d be singing as I’d take them through the store and they would scatter in all directions.” she joked. “It’s great to see them develop musical careers and talents of their own.” Carmody, who had always been more of a dancer, picked up singing from her sister, Marleigh, and then started teaching Cammarata. Music was always close by in her life. “I would go to sleep at night to my mother listening to classical music,” Carmody said of her childhood. Compared to her mother and grandmother, Cammarata’s life as a vocalist has been meteoric rise. Her first onstage performance was a rendition of “Somewhere over the rainbow” at Park’s Place in Bellows Falls when she was in second grade. Although she was nervous, her performance was well received and she hasn’t looked back since — auditioning for America’s Got Talent at age 11 “I’m one of those people that loves being on stage by themselves, but I love being in the chorus too,” said Cammarata. “It’s a very different experience singing with a whole bunch of people versus singing by yourself. You kind of come together as one and I’m used to being just that one on stage. It’s a musical element i’m gaining a lot from. I’m learning to blend with the chorus.” For the three generations to be together on stage in New York City is a dream they hope to make real, and they all thank the professionalism and talent of their fellow chorus members for helping to make it happen — particularly the director, Olsson. “[The chorus is] directed in such a way that you can come in with no musical background and be welcome,” said Carmody.