A major power outage in New York darkened Times Square and led to the cancellation of dozens of Broadway shows, but while locals and tourists filed from performance halls into the blackened streets, those outside Carnegie Hall experienced something Yahoo! News characterized as "celestial."
The Millennial Choirs and Orchestras—which includes members from throughout the western United States—was scheduled to perform Saturday night at Carnegie Hall. When the power outage hit, the choir "made the best of the unfortunate situation and performed some of [their] pieces outside for passersby to enjoy during the stressful time," the choir posted on their Facebook pages. Among those songs were "I Believe in Christ" and "I Stand All Amazed," performances that spread like wildfire across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram while also appearing on news outlets like ABC, MSN, CBS, Yahoo! and The Huffington Post.
About the touching experience, Greg Trimble posted on LinkedIn:
"Sometimes things don’t work out the way you plan in life... "Thousands of us flew to NYC for the opportunity to play in Carnegie Hall. It was a huge sacrifice for many people flying from all over the country and world for that big night. But about an hour before the show, the lights went out during rehearsal. NYC had a major blackout. . . . "Disappointment set in across the faces of both youth and adults. Most will never have this chance again. A local at our hotel told us as we walked around in the dark that this hasn’t happened in 15 years. "It was the first time in history that a show had ever been canceled in Carnegie Hall because of a power outage. "So instead of complaining about it, these singers and orchestra, in the darkening night, lit up the streets of NYC with their voices. "Instead of a closed audience seeing the show, the whole world is seeing the show now through social media. "I was there. I took this video. And I saw the tears in the eyes of the most diverse range of people I’ve ever seen."
On Facebook, Trimble added, "My belief is that God moved a lot of really good people at their own expense to a place on this planet in which a message of hope and faith in Christ could be fully syndicated."
With the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras was Jenny Oaks Baker, who posted on Facebook about the experience:
"It was so inspiring to be able to perform such a sacred and inspiring song about the wonderful love that Jesus Christ has for all of God's children for the thousands of people who had gathered in the streets. The Spirit was so strong! Here was a great example of my favorite scripture, 2 Nephi 2:2 And God Shall Consecrate Thine Afflications For Thy Gain!"
I guess this is what they call a New York moment. After being trapped on the F for an hour because of the power outage I emerged to see dark restaurants & traffic lights, civilians directing traffic, & an evacuated Carnegie Hall concert happening in the street. #nyc #Blackout pic.twitter.com/3p9UWtRrel — Briallen Hopper (@briallenhopper) July 14, 2019
A power outage in New York, but it couldn’t stop the Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, creating a makeshift stage right outside Carnegie Hall. #nycblackout pic.twitter.com/fPQJzvTS1t — Ravi Agrawal (@RaviReports) July 14, 2019
