Special K, Hamilton College’s oldest all women’s a cappella group, opened for the Radio City Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular on Sunday, Dec. 16 before the 8 PM show. We performed a medley of three Christmas classics: “Winter Wonderland,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “O, Holy Night.”

Last August, a representative from Radio City Music Hall reached out to Special K and asked us if we would like to participate in their Sounds of Christmas program. This program allows a cappella groups and choirs to sing on stage before the Rockettes’ performance. We enthusiastically accepted the opportunity to perform in the iconic 6,015 seat space (the world’s largest indoor theater.)

When tasked to choose what to sing for Special K’s largest audience ever, Special K’s team of music directors Laura Boyman ’20, Sara Jadbabaie ’21, and I decided to build on an existing arrangement of “O, Holy Night” that Special K has sung for many years. We wanted to give the audience a taste of three Christmas songs instead of just one. During rehearsals in the two months leading up to the performance we devoted our time to perfecting our dynamics, blend, and harmonies. We also worked on capturing the emotion and sentimentality of each song.

After we finished our finals and rehearsals on the Hill, we drove to the New York City area to stay with members of

Special K who live nearby. On the day of our performance, a representative from the “Sounds of Christmas” program led us through the many stairways and passageways to a backstage practice room. Bella Nichol ’19 was in awe of the theater’s backstage area, which was as large as one full city block.

“The entire experience was unbelievable, but I think the craziest part was being backstage,” said Nichol. “We were walking around where so many incredible performers had been. The halls were lined with photographs of legendary shows, iconic backstage moments, and archived costumes.

Nichol continued: “Walking up to perform, I was even able to see Santa’s sleigh getting ready to go on stage. It made me realize how special it was to be on that stage, where so many incredible musicians, dancers, and performers had stood. It was unlike anywhere else I had ever sung.”

While walking to our practice room, we also got a peek at a few Rockettes warming up for the performance. It felt like a true ‘celebrities are just like us’ moment. We had around an hour to warm up, practice, and calm our nerves. Then, we went on stage. Our medley was only four minutes long, but it was worth every hour of preparation. Of the experience, Boyman said, “It was honestly kind of surreal. Especially to go from rehearsing in an empty Wellin Hall to being on that huge stage and looking out at all the people. It was also super rewarding because we put in so much hard work and gave a performance that I’m really proud of. It’s kind of insane that we started rehearsing our holiday music in October but it definitely paid off and was super fun.”

We were filled with joy after we performed, as we got to relax and enjoy the Christmas Spectacular. It was particularly rewarding to hear positive feedback from friends, family, Special K alumni, and even strangers in the audience.

Special K President Casey Tobin ’19 added, “Performing at Radio City was such an amazing experience! Special K has given me so many wonderful things, between the amazing people I’ve met and the music I’ve been able to create with them. And it was really special to share that with so many people on such a large scale.”

Special K is looking forward to bringing the success of our Radio City performance to the Hill for an excellent spring semester.