Northern Michigan University's Director of Choral Activities, Erin Colwitz, was selected to serve as conductor in residence at New York City's Carnegie Hall for an April 21 Masterwork Festival Chorus performance. She took full advantage of the opportunity to bring along her own singers, creating a memorable experience for 28 students from the NMU Arts Chorale and 99 members of the Marquette Choral Society, which she also directs. The delegation sang alongside professional chamber orchestra musicians and soloists who typically perform at the Metropolitan Opera and on Broadway.
“It was a huge honor, absolutely,” Colwitz reflected upon her return to Marquette. “A lot of conductors do this at some point, so at first I wasn't considering it a big deal for me; I was more excited for my singers. But then I arrived at Carnegie, a building I had never been inside before. When you walk in, you see pictures of Maria Callas, Leonard Bernstein, Sousa – people who've performed there since it opened in the late 1800s. I saw my own dressing room with my name on the door, and I was like, ‘Whoa.' Then I walked out on the main stage of the venue and all of a sudden got really excited.
“The acoustics were unbelievable. We got to the big chord at the end of our piece and I cut it off, but just stayed still as the sound continued to resonate. Carnegie was obviously well-designed because it was built when there were no microphones for projection. It sort of looks like the inside of a cello, and then goes straight up. With the red velvet seats and the white, it's just beautiful. I was a little nervous knowing I had to be at the top of my game, but I had a blast conducting in that storied venue. My singers were so jazzed and the sound was gorgeous. It was just a dream come true.”
Outside of the venue, the Carnegie marquee prominently displayed Colwitz's name and photo, along with references to the NMU and Marquette ensembles. Three high school choirs from across the country were also selected to join the group in concert, which Colwitz viewed as a promising recruitment opportunity.
All performed the concert's closing number, Mozart's “Coronation Mass,” a challenging 35-minute piece widely considered the grandest and most popular of all the sacred works he wrote in his hometown of Salzburg.
“The experience impacted me immensely,” said NMU student Michael Buhler. “I was able to witness how New York professionals get ready to perform and also gain insight into the logistics of something like this. I have never performed in such an amazing space as Carnegie Hall, and I also have never seen Dr. Colwitz smile in a performance the way she did while leading us on stage. She was truly in her element. These experiences teach us so much because they provide invaluable context to our fields.”
Colwitz's residency was facilitated by Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP), a travel company that serves as a liaison to Carnegie, arranging such performances, renting the venue, hiring the professional musicians and coordinating the logistics of hosting groups that perform there.
A friend of Colwitz's who worked at MCP had expressed a desire to see her conduct a concert in the venue. She sent the company founder an audition tape that showed her directing the Marquette Choral Society through major works with an orchestra–qualities he wanted to verify before extending the invitation for her residency.
While Colwitz spent most of her time in Midtown working and troubleshooting storm-related issues with others' flights, she was able to take in the opera “La Boheme” at the Met and the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” Students also attended Broadway shows and explored other Big Apple attractions, including Central Park and the 9/11 Museum. Some of the Choral Society members were able to see a familiar face, Ironwood tenor Miles Mykkanen, appear in the Met opera “Innocence.”
“Dr. Colwitz has been a great mentor for me during my musical journey,” said NMU student Sophia Balzarini, after her first trip to New York City. “She is an incredible scholar, musician and conductor, and no one deserves the Carnegie experience more than her. She had a beautiful performance full of grace and humility. Although this was her moment, her thoughts were always on the choir and performers. I remember walking offstage after the performance and the first thing I saw was Dr. Colwitz waiting to ask everyone if they had fun. She is the kind of music educator and leader I wish to be in my future: a teacher who makes her students feel cared for.”
When a planned European trip with the Marquette Choral Society did not pan out, Colwitz said she sought another option that would allow the group “to travel and do something cool that was much more affordable.” Carnegie filled that bill. She also submitted a proposal to NMU Arts and Sciences Dean Rob Winn to secure financial support for involving students in the opportunity, and praised his efforts to cover most of their travel costs, with students responsible for $500 each.
“I always think traveling with students is important,” Colwitz said. “They need to experience big cities, other countries and cultures different from their own. It's exposure therapy, basically. I've been fortunate to travel all over the world because of music, and I think that's why I have such an open mind on a lot of things and can empathize with other people. So for me, it was about getting my students beyond the U.P. for a once-in-a-lifetime experience singing in Carnegie, which they may never get again. It was so cool to watch their connection with each other and their musical connections deepen and grow during the trip.”
“As a child, I had always dreamed of performing on Broadway, so getting to see everything first-hand was a magical experience for me,” Balzarini added. “These experiences are so valuable to us as students. I am forever grateful for this opportunity the university was able to provide me with. It provided an amazing look into what professional performers experience, as well as music directors and concert managers. I also had great opportunities to network with professionals and hear about what my career will look like in the future.”
Colwitz joined the NMU faculty in August 2015. Under her leadership, NMU choirs have toured Finland, Austria and Poland, as well as domestic venues. She is a frequent guest conductor, lecturer, contest adjudicator and choral clinician throughout the United States.
She earned both a master's and doctorate from the University of Southern California. Her dissertation was a critical analysis of Dominick Argento's “A Toccata of Galuppi's.” The 12-tone work was part of the 2003 Grammy-nominated recording of Argento's music, “Walden Pond,” by the Dale Warland Singers, for which Colwitz sang as a member. See her full bio here.
