Students at Valley Center have studied some of the greatest musicians in history.
In just a couple of weeks, they’ll be performing alongside one of them.
The madrigal choir won an online contest, and now they’ll be backup vocalists to British-American rock band Foreigner. They will sing to the 80’s rock ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
“Definitely nervous,” said senior Christy Collins. “When we heard it over the intercom, we all started freaking out. We were all in the library, and we weren’t very quiet.”
Vocal director Mike McCormick said the contest was a last-minute entry. He sent a Tweet out to his students last weekend about the contest. Within a couple of days, they had their entry recorded and uploaded online. The win was announced Tuesday morning.
“It was quite a surprise,” said McCormick, who has been teaching for nearly 30 years. “Definitely a top pinnacle. For me personally, just growing up with those groups and for the kids, for them to get a chance to perform in a venue and in so many people.”
To make the group stand out, McCormick had them perform with a band of iPad instruments. The school has moved forward with an initiative to have the devices for every student by next year.
“It was really different, and I think it helped,” said senior Daniele Lasseter. “I don’t it’s really hit us yet that we actually get to perform with Foreigner and get to see them and meet them ” Come May 14th, they will get to meet the band and perform alongside them at Intrust Bank Arena.
“I want to thank Mr. McCormick for making this happen,” Collins said. “I guarantee our parents are like super stoked because these are the bands they grew up with. I’m very excited to perform in front of like hundreds of people. That will definitely be a moment I won’t forget.”