NYS Shape Note Convention Sets New Standard!

From Jesse Pearlman Karlsberg:

It's been a while, but I wanted to write you back finally about Hubbard Hall and the New York State Sacred Harp Singing Convention.

We had a fantastic convention and really have nothing but thanks and appreciation for the work that the Hall did to make our convention a success and to make us all feel at home. People had a great time and many expressed to me that they thought the Hubbard Hall complex was an ideal location and venue for the convention. This event rotates to different parts of the state from year to year, but folks from other parts of New York are already suggesting they'd like to see it come back to this area soon, and if possible to Hubbard Hall.

To be honest, I can't think of a single thing you all could have done better. The hall itself was just the right size for our group. We had just over 200 singers registered for the weekend and we never ran out of chairs, had plenty of room to move around the hall, but also didn't feel dwarfed in the space.

Some more stats, just for your interest: We had singers present from 15 states and 3 countries + the US. Singers were present from as far away as Alabama, Oregon, Ontario, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

We recognize and are deeply thankful for the level of support from Hubbard Hall staff, and the the fact that we used not just the hall, but multiple spaces over a 2-day period. Our informal organization of Albany-area singers has very little money in the bank and our singings are always free and open to the public (as are Sacred Harp conventions elsewhere in the country). This event was generously supported by donations from the singers who came and we actually took in more money than we had anticipated.

Please pass along my sincere thanks to Benji, yourself, and anybody else at Hubbard Hall who helped us prepare for this event.

I could not have asked for a better relationship with a venue for the convention. If you'll have us, we'd be thrilled to sing at Hubbard Hall again in a few years.

Thanks, Jesse