Hingham High Teens Heading for Symphony Hall

Hingham High music students Rachel Ader, Rachel Warhaftig, and Molly Schwall, who sing with the Handel & Haydn Society's Young Women's Choir, will be heading to Symphony Hall in early May.

But they won't be part of the audience. Instead, they will join the professional Handel & Haydn choir and orchestra onstage for their performances of  Mozart's Requiem the evening of May 3 at 7:30 p.m. and for the May 5 matinee at 3 p.m.

All three girls also sing with the Handel & Haydn Young Women's Chamber Choir. Molly participates in an additional program -- Handel & Haydn's High School Soloists Program. Rachel A. also performed at Symphony Hall with the Chamber Choir last year for the Handel & Haydn performances of "Messiah." She was the only student from Hingham participating in that program last year.

"That experience was so rewarding because I was able to sing alongside the Handel & Haydn professional choir and orchestra in one of the most acoustically and visually beautiful venues in Boston," Rachel A. said. "I love Handel & Haydn because of the amazing opportunities such as that one, as well as being able to meet other high school singers from the Boston area."

They are all excited to be participating in the upcoming concerts and hope members of the Hingham community will be able to attend.

Rachel W., a sophomore,  got involved with the Handel & Haydn Society Vocal Arts Program, the organization through which the girls are participating in the May performances, at the start of her freshman year.

Rachel said she got involved with this program because of her positive experience participating in choral ensembles through Hingham High and "was attracted to the idea of taking my vocal training beyond just Hingham to gain more perspective and to meet other dedicated vocalists like myself from all over Massachusetts and New Hampshire."

Still another Hingham High student -- new to the program this year --  Sydney Collins,  sings with the Young Women's Choir. YWC rehearsals are every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. during the school year and include a 45-minute musicianship class. The chamber choir meets after YWC until 2:15 p.m. Auditions are required for participation in both groups. Needless to say, the rehearsals require a great deal of commitment -- and these young women enjoy every minute of it.

Saturday Rehearsals

"It can be challenging to wake up early for rehearsals on Saturday, but once I get past 9 a.m., I absolutely love our rehearsals," Rachel A. said. "We are able to share many musical moments with each other, and it is so cool to be able to unify under a common sound with girls from all different backgrounds."

Molly said she enjoys rehearsals so much that even if she has had "the worst week ever," she knows that Saturday is just around the corner "when I can take a deep breath, step away from the stresses I may be experiencing, and step into the world of Mozart, Kim Baryluk, Moses Hogan, or whoever's work we may be performing."

All four girls have been singing in the Hingham Public Schools Choral Program since fifth grade -- taught by  Dr. Joseph Young at the elementary level, Christopher Landis at the Middle School, and Young again at the High School. "They both encouraged me to pursue singing outside of school," Rachel A. said. "In Middle School I got into doing festivals that required auditions."

Molly started taking voice lessons in the sixth grade at South Shore Conservatory but began studying classically in her sophomore year at New England Conservatory after receiving a full scholarship to take lessons for the rest of high school through the Handel & Hayden High School Soloist Program.

"Handel & Haydn has allowed me to participate in a variety of unique opportunities to perform and to share my love for music," she said. "Through this program I have performed at a Naturalization Ceremony, a choral festival at Harvard, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and many other places."

Before joining Handel & Haydn, Molly was not a huge fan of classical music, but that has since changed. "H&H has opened my eyes and ears to its beauty and now I blast Handel's Messiah or La Habanera when my parents aren't home," Molly said. "It's incredible to see the full circle I have come through now that I am performing in the same requiem that I fell asleep to four years ago. At each rehearsal I find a new reason to fall in love with Mozart's masterpiece, and I look forward to paying tribute to his life at our performance in May."

The High School's choral program and Young's knowledge and level of teaching have expanded his students' skills and music awareness.

"He balances the year with the annual talent expo, where we perform music under a specific modern theme, such as country, Disney, or Motown -- and his work with Jazz Spectrum, which we will perform with the jazz band in June," Molly said.

Preparing for the May performances, Rachel W. said, has been a fascinating experience thus far, "and certainly a challenging commitment. I look forward to performing!"