Girlchoir benefit brings together big brother, little sister.
By: Dara-Lyn Shrager
In a town with no shortage of talented young people doing extraordinary things, it should come as no surprise that brother and sister Robert Honstein and Heather Honstein of Princeton will be sharing the stage at Spring Sing, a benefit concert for the Princeton Girlchoir. The event will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. in Nassau Presbyterian Church.
What’s interesting is that each will be singing with a different chorus.
A 22-year old student at Yale University, Robert is a member of The Whiffenpoofs, Yale’s renowned men’s a cappella singing group.
Heather, a seventh-grader at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, is a member of the Princeton Girlchoir as well as a violin student of Marianne Walker at the Giocoso School in West Windsor.
Both Robert and Heather appeared on NBC’s The Today Show as member of their respective singing groups during the past holiday season. Along with the rest of The Whiffenpoofs, Robert also appeared on the holiday episode of NBC’s The West Wing.
"It was really interesting," Robert says of his West Wing experience. "We spent three days shooting three different scenes, and we were on the show for a total of two minutes."
Robert’s passion for music can be traced back to the piano lessons he began taking at age 4. As a student at Princeton High School, Robert and three friends formed a rock band called Speckled Medium and enjoyed four years of success playing at schools and special events, such as Communiversity.
Although his days as a rock star were numbered, Robert went on to finish high school at The Lawrenceville School while studying jazz and composition with composer Laurie Altman. He is a composition major at Yale.
"I feel that I can best express my musical ideas through composition," says Robert, who has written music for string orchestra. He is looking forward to coming home to Princeton and sharing the stage with his little sister.
"I think it will be a wonderful experience," he says, "and it will be nice to hear her sing."
As for Heather, who is 12 and not at all certain what the future holds, music is simply a part of her life.
"My grandma used to sing to me on the telephone when I was 2 or 3 years old," she recalls. "It was always ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’"
Jeaninne Honstein, proud mom, credits the Princeton community with having so much to offer her children. Their dad, Robert Honstein, an investment manager, is equally proud and excited.
"All three of the kids," Ms. Honstein says, "including 18-year old Emily, who rows with the Mercer Junior Rowing Club, have been able to get involved and pursue their interests here."
Although Ms. Honstein seems to take the successes of her children in stride, it seems certain that this first opportunity for Robert and Heather to share a stage will make Honstein family history.
The Princeton Nassoons, Princeton University’s own men’s a cappella singing group, will also be performing at Spring Sing. Like The Whiffenpoofs, the Nassoons specialize in close-harmony renditions of popular and traditional songs. The two choruses perform together annually on the night of the Princeton-Yale football game. Unofficially, the two singing groups meet on the morning after the concert each year to play some football (touch) of their own.
Founded 14 years ago by Jan Westrick, the Princeton Girlchoir gives music-minded girls from the region a chance to be heard in song. The organization includes both a concert choir, of which Heather Honstein is a member, and two training choirs. Girls in third through ninth grades are eligible for the Girlchoir. With more than 160 members from 25 towns in Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Bucks counties, the group’s repertoire includes classical, folk, gospel and popular music.
At this family-oriented event, the Concert Choir of the Princeton Girlchoir, consisting of 70 seventh through ninth graders, will perform the first two selections of the evening: an a cappella arrangement of the overture to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and the Ella Fitzgerald standard, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket."
Head of the music and performing arts department at Princeton Day School, Ms. Westrick says, "I started this group to give girls a chance to so something significant together. I had no idea it would become so popular and I attribute that to this community."
The Girlchoir performs regularly in Princeton and has collaborated with Princeton Pro Musica and the American Boychoir. It also tours nationally and internationally, having performed in Italy and Canada. This summer the group will participate in the prestigious Festival 500 in Newfoundland.
Tickets to Spring Sing are $25, $75, $100 and $150. The proceeds will fund scholarships and help to keep tuition affordable. To order tickets, call the Princeton Girlchoir office at (609) 688-1888.