CONCORD - A semicircle of middle and high school students sang in unison Tuesday around a piano in a small room at St. James Lutheran Church.

Thursday, they will do the same in the enormous expanse of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral with the accompaniment of the notable church’s organ.

Leaving tonight, two youth choirs of The Arts Experience will travel by bus to New York City for what will be the trip of many participants’ young lives.

Executive director Quincy Foil arranges a special tour each year for her singers, but this will be their grandest destination in the nonprofit’s 15-year history.

“I’ve always loved New York and the cultural opportunities it provides, and I wanted the kids to experience it,” said Foil, a Concord native.

Spending three days in the big city before returning Sunday, the group of about 30 students will perform sacred music for an afternoon audience at the church, sing patriotic tunes near the Statue of Liberty, see the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” and experience a seminar with an actor from the show.

Along the way, they’ll also visit Lincoln Center, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center site, Chinatown and Little Italy.

Since the fall, they’ve been planning and raising funds, and several students displayed giddy smiles at their final practice in anticipation of the trip.

Jeremy Lea, a 17-year-old Concord native and a junior at Northwest Cabarrus High, said the closest he’s ever come to New York was on a previous Arts Experience expedition to Virginia Beach, Va.

“I know a lot of people in my family would never get the opportunity,” said Lea, who plans to become a music teacher.

In addition to providing a memorable experience, this trip should expose participants to potential career paths, organizers said.

Director and accompanist Jacqueline Yost said she’s “preemptively preparing” choir members for the rest of their lives by pushing them to perform with perfect pitch during their hour-plus weekly practices.

That work will bring Caitlyn Wachter, a 12-year-old who grew up in New York state but has never seen the city, closer to her roots.

“I’ll definitely be more informed,” she said. “I’ve wanted to go there for so long and now I’m so excited.”

Afterward, Wachter and her fellow singers are looking forward to returning richly rewarded.

“I hope what happens is they get even more turned on to the arts,” Foil said.

“If you work really hard, look what can happen.”