Co-Lin choir takes the stage at Carnegie Hall in world premiere performance

Special to Wesson News

On stage at Carnegie Hall

For many of them, it started with doubt. A twenty-year-old from Brookhaven who thought the invitation had to be a joke. A shy teenager who had only ever sung alone. A young woman who joined the choir simply because a persistent friend wouldn’t take no for an answer.

But on Memorial Day weekend, twenty-four from Copiah-Lincoln Community College (Co-Lin) stood on one of the most storied stages in the world — Carnegie Hall — and performed a world premiere piece written just for them.

“At first, when I heard the opportunity, I thought it was a joke,” said Cole Rutledge, 20, a music education major from Brookhaven. “There’s no way someone like me could ever go sing at Carnegie Hall.”

He went. They all went.

A Two-Year Journey to the Stage

The performance was the vision of Bobby Helms, director of choral activities at Co-Lin, who was invited to conduct at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2024.

“This has really been two years in the making,” Helms said.

From the start, he wanted to debut something original — not a standard repertoire piece, but something audiences hadn’t heard before. He reached out to Sherry Blevins, a North Carolina-based composer known for writing both her own lyrics and music, and the two spent the better part of a year shaping what would become the world premiere piece, “To Truly Love.” The collaboration unfolded across countless phone calls, texts and emails as the two worked to find a subject worthy of the stage.

The work draws from deeply personal territory. Blevins was inspired in part by a family member’s suicide attempt, and the piece explores the weight of self-worth — asking whether a person would still be loved if they fell short of what others expected of them.

“We wanted something that would be heartfelt by every individual,” Helms said. “Something that each person has maybe had dealings or feelings with — mixed emotions about various things. Not just something universal, but something personal.”

“I know the singers felt every emotion,” he added. “There were family members and other people who said they were just in tears during the performance."

The concert brought together four choirs: the Co-Lin Concert Choir, the Mississippi Boys Choir, the Presbyterian Christian School Choir from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the First Baptist Church Choir of Tyler, Texas — chosen in part because a featured composer was a member of that congregation. Composers in attendance included Blevins and Raphael Fusco, an American composer who completed his doctorate in Italy and now lives in Vienna, Austria. A Broadway star and vocalist named Chessa Metz also joined the ensemble as a soloist for the performance. A third composer, Richard Nichols of Texas, who had previously orchestrated music for one of Blevins’ earlier pieces, also participated.

For the Students, More Than Music

For many of the Co-Lin students, the trip was their first time in New York City — and for some, their first time on any major stage.

T'Kijah Denson, 19, a pre-physical therapy major from Georgetown, Mississippi, joined the choir only after a friend from the college choir kept nudging her.

“She came up to me saying, ‘You sound like you can sing,’” she recalled. “And she just kept coming to me.”

The persistence paid off. Beyond the performance itself, she said the experience gave her something she hadn’t expected: “I gained more friends and confidence.”

Denson was also quick to recognize the role the broader community played in making the trip happen, offering a message to everyone who donated or helped with fundraisers: “I would like to thank them, because, without that, we probably wouldn’t have gotten this far.”

Alyse Chappell, 19, a West Lincoln native majoring in psychology and hoping to work in ABA therapy with autistic children, had a bucket-list reason for making the trip.

“I wanted to see a Broadway show ever since I was like twelve,” she said with a laugh. “That was like the main reason I wanted to go. But also performing in Carnegie Hall was obviously a huge deal in the music world.”

Cole Rutledge, who helped pay for the trip by working at a local restaurant alongside his choir and band scholarships, said New York exceeded every expectation. The biggest city he’d visited before this was Dallas. Then came New York — the vendors, the energy, the street life. He even caught the tail end of Knicks playoff fever, watching fans flood out of Madison Square Garden in celebration.

“Just seeing the community of New York come out for something like that — even though it was something small — that was cool to see,” he said.

Getting There

The trip didn’t happen without sacrifice — and without community support.

Students worked fundraisers, sold popcorn, hosted dinner theater events and even sold trash bags to raise money. Choir scholarships, financial aid, contributions from the college and its foundation, and a Walmart grant all helped close the gap.

Helms was emphatic in his gratitude.

“We want to thank all of the administration at Co-Lin — Dr. Middleton, Dr. Martin, Dr. Henderson, Dr. Baker — everyone in the business office and foundation office, and really any faculty members who helped with fundraisers or bought things from the students.”

What They’ll Take Home

For Helms, the moment of standing on the Carnegie Hall stage as a conductor for the first time will stay with him. But more than the personal milestone, he hopes students carry forward the message at the heart of “To Truly Love.”

“I want them to take the text from that piece and apply it to their lives every day,” he said.

The Co-Lin group said they also enjoyed touring the city, taking in a Broadway show, dining at Ellen’s Stardust Diner and taking a dinner cruise of the NYC harbor. They also walked Central Park and sang under the infamous Bethesda Terrace Arcade for onlookers.