山姆·麦克唐纳

斯科特•埃文斯, a 60-year-old lieutenant with the 最靠谱的网赌软件 Police Department, has always loved to sing — at home, 在教堂唱诗班, 在当地的合唱团中, in the car to and from work.

是的，洗澡的时候也是.

Soon, thanks to a simple twist of fate, he’ll let his voice ring out at 卡内基音乐厅.

“I never dreamed that I would be singing with a group at 卡内基音乐厅,埃文斯说。, who joined ODU’s police force in 2019 after 27 years with the Norfolk Police Department. “It’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Now, my wife, she’s a little jealous because she’s not going.”

On March 14, Evans and around 60 singers from ODU will climb on a bus bound for New York City. The group will perform in a March 17 concert listed on 卡内基音乐厅’s website as “New England Symphonic Ensemble,” with participating choruses. ODU singers will be joined by others from Regent University and the University of Texas at El Paso. Combined, they will number around 140 voices.

The performance will include a piece by French composer Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria,” which will be conducted by the director of ODU’s Choral Department and chair of the university’s Diehn School of Music, 南希·克莱因. She was the driving force behind ODU’s participation in the concert.

“It’s unbelievable,埃文斯说. “All I have to do is practice my part. 掌握我的部分. And sit on the bus that’s going to take me there.”

Of course, practicing takes a lot of time and commitment. Evans — who will sing as part of the ensemble, not as a soloist — takes his role seriously. 为了效率起见, he downloaded recordings of his parts and sings along during his commute back and forth to campus from Norfolk’s Ocean View neighborhood.

“People look at me a little funny when they see me at a stoplight,” he said. “不过没关系. I know there’s a reason behind it.”

He’s also not shy about practicing around his coworkers. “Walking up and down the hallway in the police station, it’s not unusual for me to be singing my part in a rehearsal way,埃文斯说. “They just laugh, and they smile. 我的同事都很支持我.”

Singing is his lifelong passion, but one he started to take more seriously about a dozen years ago. After being in choir at Miles Memorial United Methodist Church, he joined the Virginia Beach Chorale. That led to singing with Symphonicity, based in Virginia Beach. He’s sung with that group for years, often at the Sandler Center for the Performing 艺术.

Then, in the fall, he joined the ODU Concert Choir. “我说，‘你知道吗? I know they have a chorus. Maybe I should look at that.’ I did, and the rest is history.”

With the approval of his supervisor, Deputy Chief of Police Keitha Boone, Evans audits a choir class taught by Klein. He rehearses with the group — students with a sprinkling of community members — for an hour and fifteen minutes each Tuesday and Thursday. He’s required to make up any missed work hours, but the department allows him the flexibility to routinely attend class.

Around the time he joined the ODU choir, he heard talk about a big trip coming up in the spring.

“I started thinking, 卡内基音乐厅. 卡内基音乐厅. That sounds like something I would definitely be interested in,” Evans recalls. “It’s certainly a bucket list item.”

“We’re proud of him,” Deputy Chief Boone said. “他实现了自己的梦想.”

Evans credits Klein for both her skill as a director and for creating a warm, inclusive atmosphere in the choir.

He never felt like an outsider.

“I was apprehensive, to be honest with you, when I started this,” he said. “我是警察. Everybody views policing differently. 但博士. Klein, and all the students have been nothing but welcoming to me,埃文斯说. “他们对我很好. It’s just a great group of students.”