The Longview High School Lobo Choir has returned home from their historic performance at Carnegie Hall, which saw them instructed by world-renowned conductors in front of an international audience.
"It was like something out of a beautiful dream," said LHS choir director Ms. Melody McMullen. "An amazing trip for our students. Not just to experience something outside of Longview, but for most of them it was their first time flying and their first time in New York. To me, it feels like this was life-changing for several of the students."
Lobo Choir performed with five other high school choirs from cities throughout the country.
"Once we went into the rehearsal room and started singing, I was amazed by the fact that so many people had come together to make such beautiful noise," said sophomore Caroline Morgan. "When we finally performed on stage, it was just so amazing."
This once-in-a-lifetime experience was a huge moment for the Lobo Choir, but for some, it didn't register until they were gearing up for the actual performance.
"It didn't really hit me until we were in the ballroom practicing. Wow! Carnegie Hall," said junior Tenda Kavuma. "Not everyone gets that opportunity. A lot of musicians who aspire to perform there, sadly aren't able to reach that during their lifetime, or it takes a long time to do it. So, for us as a group to be able to do it, and with other schools, while singing in different styles, I really loved that."
Ms. McMullen shared some UIL performances of the choir on her Facebook page last year. A Lobo alumnus, who is now a choir director, shared it, and it kept getting shared until eventually one of the best conductors in the world saw it. One day, Ms. McMullen was contacted by a representative of Anton Armstrong, stating that he would love to have the Lobo Choir perform during his turn as conductor at the festival.
"To know that some schools had to audition to be there, but that we were chosen just because someone heard us singing, I think that is really amazing. It was a wonderful experience," Tenda said.
Aside from their performance, the students also attended "The Lion King" Broadway show, took in the sights, went ice skating, and had a wonderful time overall.
The Longview High School choir was invited to participate in the National Youth Mass Choir Festival in New York City. However, in order to attend, the choir had to fundraise. The festival was from March 3-7 at Carnegie Hall and featured performances by the National Youth Mass Choir made up of several high school choirs from across the country.
The Lobo Choir rehearsed and performed under world-renowned conductors Anton Armstrong and Andre Thomas.
We are so proud of Lobo Choir and all that they have achieved. We are also so thankful to the community for coming together and helping to raise the funds necessary to send these students on such an amazing adventure. GO LOBOS!
