During spring break, the Chamber Choir had the honor of being selected along with several other top schools to perform at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.  The choir has this opportunity every four years, meaning that a complete new batch of students have this chance when this trip comes around, however, they go out of state every other year.

The students went to two Broadway shows- The Lion King and My Fair Lady. They did a tour of the Lincoln Center, saw the 9/11 Memorial, and went to the Top of the Rock. They also sang in Central Park as well as performed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“Performing in such a space as St. Patricks was just phenomenal,” senior Tyrone Killebrew said.  “Of course you can see pictures of the stain glass windows and how beautiful the architecture is, but nothing can really prepare you for being able to sing in a space where every note you have reverbs throughout. It’s just built for songs.”

The students had free time to enjoy the sights of New York while they were not performing.

“We did a bunch of tours just around Manhattan and we were in Times Square a lot,” senior Rebecca Walsh said.  “It was a lot of fun.”

One of the students’ favorite places was Times Square and the reason why is both unexpected and sentimental.

“My favorite was Times Square because I promposed there so it was a special place,” senior Raul Bautista said.  “So I planned it with Ms. Sharp before the trip. It was like a week or two before and I was like ‘what should I do’ so I called different places.  M&M World decided to help me out so they did my poster and I custom-made M&Ms that said no and yes and I promposed there.”

Many parents came to support the choir and watch the performance.

“We had lots of Klein kids, lots of Klein parents, and a special surprise were some Klein alumni [who came to watch],” choir teacher, Heather Sharp said.

Sharp has been teaching choir for six years and knew she wanted to be a teacher since college.

 “I started college as a music business major,” Sharp said. “ It was a teacher who talked to me one day after class and and just said ‘I think you would really enjoy teaching because it incorporates so many different things and every day is different.’ It just flipped a switch and then on I was a music major.”

Many of the students have had a love for music from a young age.

“I’ve always loved singing as a little kid and it’s really cool seeing how everyone works together to create,” senior Kerouac Awbrey said.  “It’s a very great family to be a part of.”

The students said that this trip served as a bonding experience.

“I’ve known a lot of these people for a long time,” senior Jackson Hinman said.  “I felt like I could be myself.”

Many of the students described the group as a ‘family’ during the trip.

“It was just a bonding experience,” Walsh said.  We were together all the time, everyday. It’s not separate groups, we kind of all just were a big group so everyone was just a big family.”