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Thirteen students and the music instructor from the P School Modern Choir were invited to perform “Schubert”s Mass in G Major” in Carnegie Hall last June 11, 2007. At first, I was against letting Lexie go because of financial constraints. She had graduated last May and the trip would not be until June, so it made more sense to focus on her college education. At least, that’s how I saw it. Imagine– each student had to come up with $2,000, and not only that, they also had to raise money for the 7 chaperones.

But Lexi was so adamant about going to Carnegie Hall even with my objection. She said that she would work hard to raise the money. In between choir classes, the students organized fundraising projects now and then. Lexie did all kinds of stuff, ranging from baking, selling, and singing, to earn a few bucks here and there. To make a long story short, she raised about $800; unfortunately, this was still not enough to cover all of the expenses. That meant, we parents had to pay the difference. Good thing we have a program called “Credit for Kids” at school where we can donate a maximum of $400 for a year and use that as a tax write off. The money went specifically to her trip to New York. We donated late last year and early this year, which amounted to $800.

She was getting close to hitting her goal, but was still a little shy. For some reason, with sheer determination and hard work, she and the other students pulled through.

Finally, they were granted the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall. They fulfilled their lifelong dream to sing on a stage that many musicians spend a lifetime trying to reach. Just walking on the stage for the dress rehearsals was overwhelming. Imagine, they got to sing where great musicians have performed. Pretty lucky bunch of kids, huh?

Dr. Thye, the condutor, taught them a lot. The singers were told to open their mouths more when they sang and to sing to the heart of every pitch. “There is no room for arrogance in excellence, and why would you ever want to sing any less than professionally?” Dr. Thye said.

The choir, along with singers from other schools that were invited, received a standing ovation during its 20-minute performance. The conductor brought the best out of each one of them, and they became better singers. For them, it was a performance of a lifetime.

Too bad, cameras were not allowed at Carnegie Hall to document the event. The photos above were the ones she took with her friends while checking out a bit of the city.

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