NYC Blackout: Carnegie Hall Choir And Orchestra Performers Shined Brightly On Dark Saturday Night In NYC
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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The blackout in Manhattan on Saturday night didn't dampen the spirits of a choir and orchestra that were supposed to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Instead, the group put on a show in the street, bringing smiles to hundreds of stressed out New Yorkers, CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported.
When the power went out, 8-year-old Harper Smith and her 5-year-old sister, Isla, took to the streets and started singing, with the help of some close friends.
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Harper and Isla, who hail from Orange County, Calif., are part of Millennial Choirs & Orchestras and were scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall on Saturday night.
When the power went out and the hall went dark, the girls and the choir took to the streets outside Carnegie Hall for an impromptu performance. And it was splendid.
"Like all the voices ... it was really like ... I don't know," Isla said.
"Powerful," Harper quickly added, completing her sister's thought.
And an only-in-New York viral moment was born.
"It felt great. I loved it," Harper said.
Yeah, the girls said the blackout was a little scary at first.
"I was walking up the stairs and then automatically the lights went out," Isla said.
"I was wondering if this was supposed to happen," Harper added.
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But their mom and dad said they'd been waiting a year to perform at Carnegie Hall, and were determined to make that happen, albeit alfresco.
"That really made the night kind of change around at that point," father Cordon Smith said. "We didn't feel like it was an emergency anymore. We felt like it was kind of a cool experience at that point."
When asked if they were going to let the blackout stop them from singing, the girls said in unison, no way, no how.
So here's to Harper, Isla and the entire choir, who in New York City's darkest hours, still managed to shine brightly.