Forget the old “practice, practice, practice” saying, turns out there’s a shortcut to Carnegie Hall that runs right through Gilroy.

Jonathan Souza, the artistic director for South Bay Singers and choir director at Gilroy High School, just landed an opportunity to perform at the prestigious New York City concert hall as part of a MidAmerica Productions series next month. And he didn’t waste any time recruiting talent from right here in the South Bay.

On April 1st, more than 100 performers will make the trek to New York, including members of South Bay Singers (which spans South San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin, and Hollister), current and former Gilroy High students, and even family members, including Souza’s own parents. The group will perform two pieces: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music” and John Rutter’s “Gloria”.

What’s been especially cool watching rehearsals is how the different generations have come together. “It’s been a really neat thing to watch my young singers perform with adult singers,” Souza told us. “We’re really leaning into the community aspects of what this represents”.

But here’s the thing, Souza knows not everyone can make the trip to New York, and he didn’t want to leave them out. That’s why the South Valley Symphony, led by Music Director Anthony Quartuccio Jr., is collaborating on a local “next generation” concert happening March 14 at Gilroy High. The program will feature both pieces the Carnegie Hall group is performing, plus a special piano solo from Sorra Coro, the winner of the Navaroli Young Musician Competition. Tickets for the 3 p.m. concert are available at southvalleysymphony.org.

In other South Bay news, the Campbell Library finally has a grand re-opening date: May 9th. The Campbell location on Harrison Avenue originally closed in 2021 for a major renovation and had its ribbon-cutting last October, but delays pushed things back a few months. The wait was worth it, though, a $500,000 grant from Silicon Valley Clean Energy let the library go completely all-electric, requiring some plan modifications. The overall renovation project, funded by Measure O (which voters approved in 2018), cost $20.5 million and also received a $4.7 million infrastructure grant from the California State Library.

If you’re looking to support local arts this weekend, don’t sleep on South First Fridays happening in downtown San Jose’s SoFA district. Galleries will be open late with performances and receptions for exhibitions. Check out the full lineup at www.southfirstfridays.com.