WADESBORO- Wadesboro’s own Anson Singers will be performing at no other than the famous Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan on February 17. They will be singing during “The Music of Joseph M. Martin” which is part of “Who Are The Brave: Music in Honor of President’s Day” event. Joseph M. Martin, a North Carolina native, will lead the performance. Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) is the concert producer and organizer.
Emily Privette is the Director and Founder of the Anson Singers. She is also an elementary school music teacher and director of music at First United Methodist Church (First UMC) in Wadesboro. Privette comes from a family of singers. “Music is kind of our family thing. My brother and sister are also musicians. We made a family gig out of it,” explained Privette.
“My mom and dad were music teachers. My mom is Gail Litaker and my dad was Charles Litaker. My dad worked at the high school, he was the chorus teacher. My mom also taught music, I think she taught pretty much everybody in Anson County during the ’80s and ’90s. She spent 37 years teaching Kindergarten through sixth grade,” said Privette.
Privette’s parents met at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, N.C. While they were in college, Privette’s father, Charles, took a job as an organist at First UMC, and that’s how they got connected to Wadesboro. He then began teaching music while Gail finished up college. “They made a life here,” said Privette. Privette would later attend Pfeiffer University herself.
The Anson Singers was founded in 2011. “In 2010 or so, I told him I wanted to have a choir. I love choral music. That’s my number one passion in music. He agreed to accompany it,” said Privette. They began organizing it in the spring of 2010 and had their first concert at the opening of the Ansonia Theatre. Gail Litaker became the accompanist upon Charles’s passing in 2015.
The Anson Singers were discovered by DCINY, which acts as a liaison company between Carnegie Hall and music groups. They search for groups online, listen for audio or find videos on YouTube. They had seen some videos posted of the Anson Singers and made contact with Privette in the fall of 2018.
“This is definitely a huge experience,” said Privette, “This is going to be major for us and unforgettable. For me, this is just like a dream. What musician doesn’t want to be part of Carnegie Hall, you know?”
Privette believes without the support of the community, the trip wouldn’t be possible, “We did a fundraiser in July at the Ansonia Theatre. That was huge and I would like to thank the Arts Council for their support in that because they brought a lot to our fund for Carnegie Hall.”
Even though only 13 of the 24 members are going to New York, they all did their part in helping out, “The ones who are not going to Carnegie Hall have spent countless hours helping us to practice and prepare for that concert. This has been a huge undertaking for us and we had a lot of support from our group, even the ones who weren’t able to make when they could have just said very easily, ‘I’m just going to sit out this season.’ They’ve been amazing.”
“I call the members of the Anson Singers ‘my little family’ because that’s what we are. My favorite part of the week is going to make real music with people who have a passion for it. When you’re teaching, the kids aren’t necessarily excited about what you’re excited about. It’s refreshing when a member of the Anson Singers sees a piece of music and they get excited about the stuff we’re doing. That means a whole lot to me,” said Privette.
February 17 will actually be the second time the Anson Singers have performed with Martin. “On Nov. 14, 2018, we had worked with Joseph Martin, who is a choral composer. He writes a lot of church music and we use it at our church. He came to do a concert with us so we spent some time learning our music and had a little clinic with him and gave a concert. He’s our clinician for this concert at Carnegie Hall. It’s kind of neat we get to work with him in a different setting,” stated Privette.
The event at Carnegie Hall will also be the second time Privette has been to New York. She took her fifth-grade chorus from Cheraw Intermediate School to NY in April as their chorus field trip. “We were gone for four days and they sang at the statue of liberty. We just spent our time watching shows, eating food, and having a good time. A lot of those children had never been out of Cheraw, so that was a big major deal for them.”
What’s next for the Anson Singers? They will bring back the music from Carnegie Hall and do a program on April 26. “From Carnegie Hall” is the tentative title of the program. “We want to bring back what we did, our portion of it, and let our community hear the music,” said Privette.
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