We'd Really Like You to Visit Us
The Big Apple Chorus looks forward to your visit. We meet almost every Wednesday in the auditorium, on the 2nd floor of the NormanThomas High School. The school is located on the corner of Park Avenue and 33rd Street and -- the 33rd street entrance door is about 50 feet from the corner. Before dropping by – and because you’re always welcome – please check our calendar for those rare Wednesdays when we’re not rehearsing.
If you’re familiar with the city – you know how easy it is to find us – and may even choose to take the subway – which stops right at the corner of 33rd and Park Avenue. If you’re traveling in from North of the city or Connecticut– you may choose to ride the Metro-North train line to Grand Central Terminal – and then walk just eight short blocks down Park Avenue.
From New Jersey you can travel in on the NJTransit train line – which drops them off at Penn Station on 33rd street and 7th avenue – that is – two long plus two short blocks from 33rd and Park Avenue.
While quite a few of our members come in early and grab a bite to eat together – others begin arriving in the High School auditorium as early as 6:30. And while our rehearsals begin at 7 PM sharp – we’d be fibbing if we told you that all of the guys are able to be “on the risers” that early.
What You Can Expect
If you’re looking for a bunch of Broadway stars or Park Avenue elite who are “puttin’ on the ritz” – well – you’re really going to be disappointed – a little. We look at lot like you – (well – not dat bad) – and other choruses with whom you’re familiar. And – while we’re ethnically and culturally more diverse then most – we share a common passion. We love to sing a cappella.
Like others you know – we’re a constant “work in progress”. We’re ranked by those dastardly judges to be among the top a cappella choruses in the world. But – we’d like to be better and -- with some of the best arrangers and coaches (and judges that money can’t buy) – we’re working on that. Kevin Keller and Tom Gentry are two of the finest in the world who give their all to our BAC.
The BAC is recognized for its distinctive sound and ensemble vocal quality. But – we’d like to be better and -- with the help of Jackie Presti, one of the best Vocal Coaches on Broadway – we’re working on that.
Our performances include a wide variety of great music – but it’s just about impossible to always satisfy the musical preferences of our membership. We’d like to do better -- and -- with the help of one of the best “in house” creative teams in the Barbershop Harmony Society -- we’re working on that.
The Big Apple’s staging and choreography is considered by many to be nothing less then extraordinary. But --we’d like to do better and – with the help of Christine Oberc and George Gipp -- two of the finest choreo design and presentation coaches we’ve ever met – plus – a talented internal Staging & Choreo Team -- we’re working on that.
We expect that our BACbrothers will quickly master the fundamentals of a new piece of music – but some need a little more time and help then others. We’d like to do better – and with a BACplan that includes learning tracks for all new music – skilled Section and Small Group Leaders – we’re working on that.
We all want – feel the need and would like to attend every rehearsal – but in today’s world – that’s a tough objective. We do however expect that every BACman will attend no less then 65% of our rehearsals – throughout there entirety. The guidelines for our FROGS, that is our Front Row Guys, is 75%. Many of us believe that these guidelines are minimums – and that 90 to 100% is what it takes to be World Champions. So -- we’d like to do better and – we’re working on that too.
We leave no man behind for several reasons. First and foremost we are BACbrothers. We are family. We do expect everyone to do their best – and because we all do – we leave no man behind. In other words – we all perform on shows; we all compete in the regional contests; we all hit the stage together to strut our stuff with the best in these Mid-Atlantic United States – and – we all proudly represent the greatest city in the world in BHS International Competition. We hope that this in the kind of Chorus that you’d like to know more about because -- we’re all looking forward to meeting – you.
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