On March 14, the Colgate University Chorus performed at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium in New York City under the direction of Sinhaeng Lee, assistant professor of music and director of choral programs.
The event was presented by MidAmerica Productions in collaboration with the Hamilton College Choir. Lee’s invitation to conduct came after he was named first runner-up in Carnegie Hall’s conducting competition.
“From a professor’s perspective, this performance is where the deepest value lies. Experiences like this teach students discipline, presence, and a sense of connection to something larger than themselves,” Lee says.
Designed in an elliptical shape with a domed ceiling and an extended stage, Carnegie Hall ensures that each note, whether whispered or thunderous, reaches every corner of the hall equally. “Carnegie Hall offers a special acoustic environment, and that allows both the choir and orchestra to experience the music with unusual clarity, depth, and resonance,” Lee explains.
With this in mind, Lee and Charlotte Botha, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities at Hamilton College, selected Johannes Brahms’ Schicksalslied and Felix Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer to capture an emotional intensity and contrast while challenging the ensemble musically.
For a professor in the arts, the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall is a considerable achievement; for students, it is the kind of experience that redefines what a college education can look like.
“It says something meaningful about the place of choral music and the arts within the University,” Lee says. “Moments like this remind us that artistic experiences are not peripheral to education. They are central to how students grow intellectually, emotionally, and communally.”
Physics major Kyle Reece ’28 has been active in choir since middle school, carrying that passion into his time at Colgate. “Music has always been a huge part of my life,” Reece says. “I’ve always known of Carnegie Hall, the place for musical performance, and it was so amazing to be able to sing on the same stage as some of the biggest names in music.”
Molecular biology major Nelle Madej ’29 was inspired by the performance and the bonds created throughout the experience. “A lot of people in our choir don’t major in music, so it’s really cool to be able to get together and experience the magic of singing in a way that isn’t present in the rest of our academics,” Madej says. “Even though we hadn’t met the Hamilton choir before, we forged a connection with the pieces we shared. Performing in Carnegie Hall together was amazing, but outside of that, it was really cool to make new friends.”
That sense of connection — between students, institutions, and the music itself — is precisely what Lee hopes students carry with them. “Artistic excellence at Colgate is not limited to conservatory-style training, but grows out of intellectual curiosity, collaboration, discipline, and shared purpose,” Lee explains. “These lessons are musical, but they are also humanistic. That is one of the most powerful things the arts can offer within a liberal arts education.”