New Hanover High School senior Abigale Hawkins met me back in February at a local coffee shop to pitch an idea. Her concept for a senior project was to arrange music from the sacred classical and hymn traditions into a piece that she would sing - and she sings very well - that would then air on Classical HQR, if it met muster. Well, it did. Abigale then came in for a brief interview about her experience and her future:
Abigale is a member of NHHS' Lyceum Academy, a prestigious honors program, who has been singing in church since age 5, dipping her toe into musical theater and other musical oportunities. Her project involved researching the influence of church music on Western classical music. Her mentor, Stephen Field, help her bring together a telescoped arrangement of music from across time, including plainchant, music by Bach, Faure and, of course, Amazing Grace: