PolyPhonics and the Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble will take the Carnegie Hall stage this month.
Kat Gore
Special to Mustang News
PolyPhonics, Cal Poly’s chamber choral ensemble, will take the stage at Carnegie Hall along with the Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble as part of the World Projects 2014 New York Choral Festival on March 18.
“Carnegie Hall is probably one of the most renowned concert halls in the world, so just to be asked, and to be able to stand on that stage where so many great artists have performed before, is really exciting,” PolyPhonics conductor and professor Thomas Davies said.
World Projects, the Choral Festival’s sponsor, contacted Davies and asked Polyphonics to perform at Carnegie Hall approximately a year ago. Davies asked if he could bring the Arab Music Ensemble along because he had performed with them before, he said.
“It’s really a neat experience to have our groups perform together, and so when I proposed this to the people at World Projects, they were very excited about that,” Davies said.
Davies said Cal Poly will have more than 90 people at Carnegie Hall.
“It’s a beautiful hall, and I think the students will just be really excited when they walk into the hall and are able to sing there,” Davies said.
PolyPhonics and the Cal Poly Arab Music Ensemble will also perform at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center on March 17 and at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on March 20.
“I am incredibly proud of the students,” Davies said. “Most people don’t think of Cal Poly as a music school, but we have wonderful ensembles here and our students are fantastic — they’re doing a great job and they’re going to represent our university very, very well.”