The family that played Carnegie Hall

Now 24, and no longer living in Tucson, Erin fondly remembers there always being some music being played, or songs being sung, in her parents' East Side home.

With childhood having given way to young adulthood, the three Wingert children still enjoy singing.

Last month, on May 22, the siblings — Erin, her twin, Amanda, and their older brother, Chris — met their parents for a musical reunion none of them will forget.

It was one of the first times they'd sung together in a while since Chris now lives in Washington, D.C., Erin lives in Chandler and Amanda lives in Phoenix.

The venue for their reunion? Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The children were the third generation of Wingerts to sing at the famous hall. Their dad's father and their uncle also had performed there.

This time, the Wingert family were part of a choir of about 170 other singers from Arizona.

There were more than 2,000 people in the audience, director Jonathan Ng said, and their performance of Antonio Vivaldi's "Gloria, RV 589" in D-major was "fabulous."

"Both the staff and the artistic director were very impressed with our performance," said Ng, who has been the director of sacred music and art since 2003 at the Catalina United Methodist Church, 2700 E. Speedway.

Ng, 40, said Doug and Judy Wingert have "a great tradition of singing in the church and serving in the church."

"They are all singers, excellent singers," he said.

Doug and Judy said they learned to love music from their parents. It's a tradition the Wingert children now hope to pass along to their children someday.

Doug Wingert, a banker with Bank of Arizona, said he started singing as a child at Catalina United Methodist Church and hasn't stopped since.

"I'm one of four boys and we all grew up singing," said Doug, 56. "We're still a pretty good quartet when we get together.''

He said music brought the family together.

"Judy always said, you spell love t-i-m-e," Doug Wingert said. "Music was always a way that we could spend time together."

After their children started attending the University of Arizona, Judy Wingert said there was one year when the family all sang together at the church again.

"That was really fun. They were all in school and every Thursday night, we'd see each other at choir practice and get caught up," said Judy, 54, a retired middle-school teacher who now does teacher training part time.

Ng said the choir at Carnegie Hall consisted of members from five churches, including one Green Valley church as well as others in Phoenix and Tucson.

Amanda Wingert, 24, said her favorite moment during the Carnegie Hall performance was moments before they went on stage, when Ng spoke to the choir.

"Our director made a very nice speech to the choir in which he highlighted our family specifically as he recognized how special it was that all five of us could gather together and take part in this wonderful experience," Amanda wrote in an e-mail.

"I will never forget my experience singing in Carnegie Hall, and most of all, I will always cherish that moment."

Erin also said the experience was unforgettable.

"I love family trips. It was probably more exciting to be with my family than to sing, to be honest," she said. "It was great. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I'm so happy to be able to do it with my family."

Erin and Amanda didn't chose music-related careers, but both still sing when they can.

Chris, 25, sings in the Washington Chorus. He also works as a consultant for theaters and opera houses nationwide, teaches in the theater department at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Va., and gives private piano instruction.

"I never had to worry about what I was going to major in in college,'' he said. "The natural choice was to go into music."

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