Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MANHATTAN — A blackout in New York City always makes the news, especially if that blackout empties all the theaters on Broadway.
For one Utah choir, it meant the cancellation of their only performance in New York.
The Millennial Choirs & Orchestra (MCO) was scheduled to perform at the famous Carnegie Hall on July 13 as part of their “Nearer My God to Thee” concert series. The group's members were already gathered in Carnegie Hall when the power went out and were forced to evacuate the building.
According to the MCO’s Facebook page, they couldn’t help but bring the performance to the crowds of people who were also evacuated during the blackout.
“In true MCO fashion, we made the best of the unfortunate situation and performed some of our pieces outside for passersby to enjoy during the stressful time,” their post reads. “Although we regret that many of our participants and audience members missed out on performing and seeing us on the world-renowned Carnegie stage this evening, we feel blessed to have been able to touch many more hearts in an unexpected way from the street of beautiful New York City.”
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram all had videos of the performance go viral. The choir is known for its powerful performances that rattle the bones. That kind of power in the natural echo chamber between New York skyscrapers only make the experience even more epic.
Some videos were great, up-close street views.
A power outage in New York, but it couldn’t stop the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, creating a makeshift stage right outside Carnegie Hall. #nycblackoutpic.twitter.com/fPQJzvTS1t
— Ravi Agrawal (@RaviReports) July 14, 2019
Some were aerial views with an ethereal sound.
Now this is what turning lemons into lemonade is all about! We can hear singing from the streets below...the entire @carnegiehall choir including conductor are putting on an impromptu concert by singing outside during the blackout! #NYCBlackout#BeautifulSoundsDuringBlackoutpic.twitter.com/ll5ocnGYvc
— Caryn Ross (@SuperSassyMama) July 14, 2019
And some with incredible magic hour lighting.
Here's what the Millennial Choir said on Facebook about the stirring impromptu production:
"As you may have heard, we were not able to perform our final concert at Carnegie Hall this evening due to a widespread blackout that affected a large part of Manhattan for several hours. But in true MCO fashion, we made the best of the unfortunate situation and performed some of our pieces outside for passersby to enjoy during the stressful time. This is Brandon Stewart's arrangement of 'I Stand All Amazed.'
"Currently, countless people have heard this story about MCO and seen the viral videos of our impromptu performance. So although we regret that many of our participants and audience members missed out on performing and seeing us on the world-renowned Carnegie stage this evening, we feel blessed to have been able to touch many more hearts in an unexpected way from the street of beautiful New York City."
Have You Seen This?
