Bradenton choir’s Carnegie Hall trip ‘once in a lifetime’

Faith United Methodist Church charter member Fred Mack shops at the Publix Super Market on Cortez Road where he never fails to say hello to Tifiany Dalto, the store’s florist, and, like Mack, a member of the church.

A few Sundays ago, knowing Dalto had to work, Mack rushed into Publix to pass along huge news he had just heard from the lips of The Rev. Gary Eldred of Faith United Methodist, which calls itself, “the small church, the neighborhood church, the mission church, the friendly church, the FUMC.”

Eldred confirmed that choir director Craig Ramberger and accompanist Brandon Kouri as well as the rest of the church choir, of which Dalto is a key member, had been invited to participate in a performance of Joseph Martin’s “Appalachian Winter” on Monday, Nov. 27, during Distinguished Concerts International’s New York Concert Series at Carnegie Hall in New York.

After Mack whispered the news, Dalto screamed out to everyone in the store, “Guess where I am going?”

Although a few weeks have passed since she found out, Dalto, one of roughly 24 members of the unique choir, was still emotional when Rev. Eldred made the official announcement Sunday before a packed sanctuary at 7215 1st Ave. W., in northwest Bradenton on, coincidentally, the 30th anniversary of the church.

“My daughter, Amaranta, is also in the choir and she’s always wanted to travel,” Dalto said, tears streaming down her face. “I’m very excited. You look on the Internet and see the picture of Carnegie Hall and you can now say, ‘We’re gonna be there.’”

To raise the roughly $6,000 she will need for her daughter and herself, Dalto has taken on a second job as a massage therapist.

“This is a once in a lifetime thing,” Dalto said.

“Invitation to a Miracle”

Ramberger and Kouri, who came to FUMC from Colorado as a choir director/accompanist team in September 2015 and have been credited with giving the already successful choir s more dynamic sound, chose Martin’s “Invitation to a Miracle” as the FUMC Christmas cantata.

“They were tracking who was purchasing these and read my bio on the church website,” said Ramberger, who received a phone call from New York in January. “They asked me if I could talk to the associate director at Carnegie Hall and to see if we were an appropriate fit.”

The FUMC choir sent a recording to New York and, a week later, the group was accepted.

“Our group will join about 200 or 250 singers from choirs all over the world,” Ramberger said. “So we are singing a composition by the same composer as our Christmas cantata.”

The FUMC choir will spend five days and four nights in New York, including nine to 10 hours in rehearsals led by Martin over the five-day residency, Ramberger said.

“It’s really an honor,” Ramberger said. “We are all thrilled to go. But we have our work cut out raising money for the trip.”

The church has set a goal to raise $75,000 in order to cover the expenses of roughly 25 people, which Ramberger estimates will be about $3,000 per person.

Choir members excited

FUMC choir member Linda Bussey quickly said, “It’s gonna be her,” and pointed to Dalto when asked who will be the life of the party in New York.

The choir members said Ramberger and Kouri deserve a lot of credit for the invitation.

“What we hear all the time is that we sound like a choir of 50 even though we are 20,” said choir member Barbara Munini.

Munini and other choir members said that Ramberger and Kouri have taught them to clearly enunciate or articulate their words, which, in turn, has given the choir a deeper sound.

“They tell us over and over what we can do to sound wonderful, and they are making us better and better each day,” Dalto said.

Choir member Rick Hunneke has some advice for his choir mates.

The last time he was in New York he was a young lad visiting the Empire State Building with his family. He tried to climb up the mesh on the very top of the building. The lesson he learned was swift and painful.

“I learned from my dad that you don’t do that,” Hunneke suggested to his choir mates.

To raise money for the trip, the choir will be performing its Easter cantata, called “A Journey to Hope,” for the public at 3 p.m. April 23, Ramberger said.

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Bradenton choir’s Carnegie Hall trip ‘once in a lifetime’."