CELEBRATING 12TH
CHORAL SEASON
New York, here these singers
come
Local students in Arts
Experience choirs get chance to show off
voices
In April, dozens
of local young people will get to go to New
York City.
They'll be
singing there, too, at St. Patrick's
Cathedral and the Statue of Liberty.
The Arts
Experience Concert Choir and Youth Oratorio
will celebrate their 12th choral season with
the trip to the Big Apple.
They will be
performing on their own at the famous
cathedral on Fifth Avenue, which attracts
many visitors and performers on a daily
basis, said Quincy Foil, president of The
Arts Experience.
"The kids have
tickets to visit Ellis Island, but they will
perform outside the Statue of Liberty" while
visiting there, Foil said.
"I think it'll
be marvelous. That's what I think it will
be," said Sarah McEachern, 15, a freshman at
Robinson High School who's in the Youth
Oratorio.
"I am really
excited. I've never been to New York," Sarah
said.
The singers, who
are in middle school and high school, live
in Cabarrus, Rowan, Iredell and Mecklenburg
counties, Foil said.
Jacqueline Yost,
who conducts the choirs, received her
doctoral degree in music from the Eastman
School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. She
teaches music at UNC Charlotte and directs
music programs at Concord's First
Presbyterian Church.
The group will
see the hit musical "Wicked" on Broadway,
take a backstage tour of the Lincoln Center,
participate in a question-and-answer session
with a Broadway star, and tour the Empire
State Building and Ground Zero.
"I haven't been
to New York since 9-11, and I'm really
looking forward to taking these kids to New
York," said Foil, who was visiting Manhattan
at the time of the attacks on 9-11.
The trip will
cost each child about $600. One-third of
them get assistance with tuition fees. Foil
said her nonprofit educational organization
welcomes donations from the community to go
toward the trip costs.
To raise money,
the student singers sold tickets for the
Magical Evening of Giving at Carolina Mall.
Now they're selling cookie dough.
Adam Butlak, 15,
a sophomore at Northwest Cabarrus High, said
he's never been to New York City, either.
"I can't wait to
go," he said. "I've always wanted to see the
Statue of Liberty and always loved musicals
and can't wait to see `Wicked.' "
The group will
leave Concord by bus on April 12 and return
April 16.
Sarah said the
only thing she's concerned about is
transportation.
"The bus
breaking down -- that's the only thing I'm
worried about," she said.
Singing
Auditions
The Arts
Experience will hold auditions for the
spring semester choirs through Jan. 16. More
information:
www.artsexperience.org.
