On the night of Feb. 6, famous Italian singer Andrea Bocelli sang at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The next day, he was in Columbus for the first performance of his “Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour” at the Schottenstein Center.
Unbeknownst to most viewers, Bocelli would take a plane directly following the opening ceremony and land in Columbus, Ohio for the first performance in his “Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour” at the Schottenstein Center on Feb. 7.
For every stop of this tour, a local choir is asked to perform with Bocelli both as his backup vocals and maybe even to perform a piece themselves without Bocelli.
When it came to the debut performance in Columbus, Dr. Lynda Hasseler, university choral director and conductor, was asked to bring some of her students to perform onstage with Andrea Bocelli himself.
“Of course, my answer was a resounding yes,” Hasseler said. “In fact, I can do that. And I’d love to.”
Having the honor to share the stage with a world renowned singer would be a once in a lifetime chance for any aspiring performer.
For many, it would seem very intimidating, but Hasseler knew just what to do.
“The singers in the Chapel Choir are no strangers to high-level performance … it is the strength of our music program here that resounds in this city and makes it possible for our students to have opportunities that are very elevated experiences,” Hasseler said.
For this performance, Hasseler wasn’t able to accompany her students due to a trip to guest-conduct the Colorado All-State Treble Choir.
And with a limited rehearsal schedule, she knew she had to get to work.
Hasseler chose students from the university’s Chapel Choir for the task, as well as 20 Columbus choral artists — 11 of those artists are university alumni.
Junior vocal music education major Luke Bolyard was among the students chosen to perform. The first step of his rehearsal process was to practice the pieces by himself before combining with the rest of the singers.
“I found that I was able to learn the music faster and get straight to the technique quicker,” Bolyard said. “I think being able to work on it by yourself also makes the rehearsals when we are together all that more powerful … When we’re all here together, all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s a great sound!’”
Among the pieces the choir performed were “Skyfall” by Carl Davis, “Di quella pira” and “Libiamo,” both composed by Giuseppe Verdi, and “Il Mare Carmo Della Sera” by Bocelli himself.
Even though the choir was there to sing with Bocelli, they also had the opportunity to perform a piece all by themselves: “O Fortuna,” the opening chorus for “Carmina Burana” composed by Carl Orff.
“I have programmed that piece multiple times,” Hasseler said. “Anytime I get to prepare a choir singing ‘O Fortuna’ is a dream.”
Going into the performance, Bolyard, as well as his fellow singers, felt a great sense of excitement to step onto the stage.
“I love to use adrenaline as a boost anytime I’m going to perform,” Bolyard said. “I think with the preparation that we have done … the anxieties go away and they become more of a ‘Let me show you what I can do’ feel,” Bolyard said.
Although Hasseler wasn’t in attendance, she felt great pride sending her students out into the performing world beyond campus.
“I have told them over and over again, ‘Sing well, do this well, and you will be asked to do this again’ … It’s a very rewarding compliment to the other work that we do here on a daily basis,” Hasseler said.
This certainly won’t be the last time that university students will have the chance to sing in the Columbus performing arts sphere.
