Bella Abbrescia ’19 Selected To Perform At Carnegie Hall And Sydney Opera House

Archmere Academy sophomore Bella Abbrescia has been selected for the 2017 National High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall in New York as well as the 2017 International High School Honors Performance Series at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. She will perform Soprano 1 in February and July with the Honors Choirs. Participation in one of the five Honors Ensembles is limited to the highest-rated high school performers from around the world.

Earlier this year, Bella auditioned for the Honors Performance Series and was accepted after a review by the Honors Selection Board. Acceptance to the elite group is a direct result of the talent, dedication, and achievements demonstrated in her application and audition recording. Bella will join other performers from all 49 United States, Guam, two Canadian provinces, and a number of foreign countries for a special performance at the world-famous Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House, venues that mark the pinnacle of musical and choral achievement.

 

According to Morgan Smith, Program Director, “Being selected to the Honors Performance Series is something each Finalist should be extremely proud of accomplishing. We processed more than 18,000 nominations this year and have selected nearly 750 of the most talented student performers from around the world. Working with these conductors and performing at Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that these musicians will never forget”.

 

Bella has studied music since the age of 9, when she began by auditioning at the University of Delaware’s Blue and Gold Children’s Choir. She was selected and performed as a member for two years in 2010 and 2011. She also auditioned for and was selected as a Soprano One in the Delaware “All State Choir” for the last 3 years, being selected as the “First Chair” in 2015 and “Second Chair” in 2016. She is currently a member of the Archmere Academy Mastersingers, a nationally renowned choral group, where she has been a member since her freshman year audition in 2015. Bella has auditioned for and been selected to perform several solo performances as an Archmere Mastersinger. The Archmere Mastersingers have national recognition as one of the top High School Choirs in the country. They have received recognition in San Francisco’s Heritage Musical Festival of Gold, the National Festival, the Orlando Music Fest, the North American Music Festival International Competition in Toronto, and have performed in Rome at the Vatican. The Mastersingers will be competing this year in the 2017 Chicago Festival of Gold. Bella also planned, designed, directed and performed her own Solo Sophomore Voice Recital in September of 2016 at the Wesley College Bennet Chapel.

Finalists will come together in New York City for five days in February 2017, and for six days in July 2017. They will have the opportunity to learn from world-renowned conductors, work with other Finalists, and get a taste of New York City and Sydney, Australia. The Carnegie Hall Honors Choral Performance and an Honors Instrumental Performance will take place Sunday, February 5th, and the Sydney Opera House Honors Choral Performance will take place Monday, July 10^th. Both performances are open to the public. Tickets can be purchased beginning 60 days prior to the performance through the Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House box offices.

 

The Honors Performance Series was created to showcase accomplished individual high school performers on an international level by allowing them to study under master conductors and perform in these world renowned and celebrated venues.