Princeton, Indiana Man Shares Experience Singing Onstage at New York City’s Famed Carnegie Hall

I have known Scott Hartley basically my whole life. We were neighbors growing up on Gibson Street in Princeton. In fact, some mornings his mom drove me to school. That was always pretty exciting for me because that's the only time I could watch Bozo. I also admired Scott's toy collection, only from afar, because he was pretty particular about them. Later in life, we worked together at the Sheriff's office, and we've both come a long way since the days of Bozo.

Once In A Lifetime Experience

Scott Hartley joined 90 other choir members from across the nation to sing Pepper Choplin’s cantata Once Upon A Morning on New York City’s famed main stage at Carnegie Hall.

Invitation by Joyce Kim-Rohrer, director of the Southwest Indiana Cantata Choir

“The group received their invitation in 2019 and was originally scheduled to perform in 2020,” Hartley explained.  “But COVID shut everything down, which continued through 2021.”

“When Joyce received word the 2022 trip was a go, she called me,” he continued.  “Several of the singers who had planned to go in 2020 couldn’t make it this year. I immediately said yes,” he said.

But First, We Explore

The choir flew to the Big Apple last Friday and mixed in sightseeing amongst their nearly 11 hours of rehearsals over the weekend.

They took in the musical Aladdin, strolled through Central Park, ate dinner in Little Italy, saw the bright lights of Times Square, relaxed on a scenic dinner cruise on the Hudson River, and viewed New York City from atop 30 Rock.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Lady Liberty All Aglow

On Set At The Today Show

And Billy Crystal also happened to wave at them from the set of the TODAY Show, as they stopped to catch a glimpse of the show from outside the studio.

“It was such a surreal, breath-taking experience - one that I will never forget,” Hartley reminisced.  “I almost started crying a few times as we sang.”

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One of Hartley’s coaching clients who lives in Brooklyn attended the performance, making the moment even more special.

This was Hartley’s second once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  In 2017, he received tickets to witness Donald Trump’s inauguration on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.