If you’ve been to an Angel City Chorale concert, then you already know–ACC’s got talent. Soon, the entire country might have the chance to experience that talent for themselves! On March 12, we performed for a very special audience: the judges of America’s Got Talent. In a few weeks, you’ll be able to watch us duke it out against other amazing acts on the NBC reality TV show!
This was my first time taking part in a TV taping. While I’ve lived in LA for ten years, and I have many friends and colleagues (including ACC members) who work in the entertainment industry, Hollywood has always been on the periphery of my day-to-day life. But for that day, I was right in the middle of it, with 150 of my ACC compatriots.
While big parts of the day were spent waiting–waiting for producers to check us in, waiting in our green room for our sound check, waiting backstage for our turn to perform–there was always a sense of excitement in the air. When we stepped on stage for the first time and saw the huge, neon “America’s Got Talent” sign hanging above us, the enormous audience waiting to hear us–and the panel of judges eager to pass judgement–I got a bit of a chill.
Singing for Heidi Klum, Mel B., Howie Mandell, and the infamously critical Simon Cowell could have been an intimidating experience, but being surrounded by my fellow singers just made it fun. We were there as a community, and we were there to show them what singing as a community could do. Choir member Tina Mitro, who had a solo in our number, echoed this feeling. “It felt fantastic to sing joyfully with my peers for an enthusiastic audience mostly new to our music. The celebrity judges, I think, were pleasantly surprised by our large group’s talent,” she said. On the experience of singing a solo in front of the AGT judges, she added: “I was nervous but excited because I just knew it would go well. I felt ready to bust it out! And, frankly, I did not pay attention to the judges so as not to be distracted. I felt like I was in the zone.”
As Leena Mathew, president of ACC’s Board of Directors told me, appearing on America’s Got Talent will let ACC “spread our mission of community building through music to a much larger audience than we have reached in the past.” She went on to say that appearing on the show will let ACC do more than share music. “It provides us with a platform to share our values of diversity, inclusion and hope with the world.”
While we can’t reveal the results of the judges’ decision just yet, we hope you’ll tune in and find out for yourself! Our appearance should air on NBC this coming May or June. To find out the air date, be sure to sign up for ACC’s mailing list and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
-Alexandra Apolloni
