Sage DiPalma, a 2009 graduate of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts and 2007 & 2008 COTA CampJazz student, was as surprised as anyone when her participation in a choir working with internationally-renown contemporary composer/conductor, Eric Whitacre, led to a solo debut at the Lincoln Center in New York City. Ms. DiPalma, along with other members of LVPA’s Touring Choir, took part in the Distinguished Concerts International New York’s presentation of Eric Whitacre, conducting his own choral music at Avery Fisher Hall. Whitacre, a Juilliard graduate and 2007 Grammy nominee, is one of the most popular and performed composers of his generation.
Ms. DiPalma has studied vocal technique and performance, with a concentration in Italian Opera Repertoire, under the tutelage of international opera singer and Julliard graduate, Pauline Domanski, of Bucks County, PA.
Says Ms. DiPalma, “Eric Whitacre has been my favorite composer since I was introduced to his music at LVPA three years ago,” Waiting outside the Lincoln Center after the concert, she added, “He has inspired me to begin composing music, and singing a solo in his composition as he conducted us tonight, was a dream come true.” The entire Touring Choir was taken to a post-concert VIP-only dinner party at New York’s famous Tavern-on-the-Green in Central Park.
The Touring Choir of LVPA is directed by Mr. David McBeth, who was present for the concert. “She nailed that solo,” he boasted proudly of Ms. DiPalma’s performance.
