KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local youth choir in Kansas City will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on one of most prestigious and well-known stages in the world: Carnegie Hall.
The Youth Chorus of Kansas City (YCKC) will perform in New York City in June, though preparations are already well underway. When founder and artistic director Ryan Main started the non-profit group in 2017, he never envisioned performing at Carnegie Hall in just eight years.
"It really is one of the biggest deals in classical music," Main said. "To see where they are now, it makes me so proud. I'm just so excited."
YCKC was formed to provide a musical education opportunity to all students in the metro, whether they had the means to access an organized program or not.
"We're very mission focused and very scholarship-based" Main said. "We want every student who can, who has an interest in being a part of this, to be able to be a part of it. Excellence is accessible to everyone."
The choir was invited to send a recording to Carnegie Hall, and from there, were selected among the hundreds of applicants. Main had the opportunity to perform at the prestigious hall early in his career, and is excited his students will have a similar experience.
"One of most exciting things about what we do is that we are able to provide a place for kids who want that and don't have access to it in their school normally," Main said.
7th grader Mila Giraldo is one of the chorus students who sought out a musical education that wasn't available in her school.
"They tried to get a choir at my school, but they never succeeded," Giraldo said. "I really wanted to do choir because you never know how you can improve."
Middle school student Gian Carlos Molina sings alto-tenor.
"When I'm here and when I'm performing, this is something that is just for me," Molina said. "Performing almost feels like you're flying."
For both Molina and Giraldo, performing at Carnegie Hall is an extraordinary opportunity.
"It's a once in a lifetime shot," Giraldo said. "You only get invited there if you're like one of the best choirs and I'm amazed at how far we've grown and how far we've come."
Molina said it's either make or break it for the choir and he's confident they will make it.
Nearly 70 students will be going on the trip in June. For Main and other directors, that requires a lot of coordination ahead of time.
"It's been a lot of planning and a lot of fund raising," Main said. "We have about $20,000 left to raise. Our big fundraiser is coming up, the gala. It's happening on April 10 at The Abbott and that's going to be what we're hoping is the kind of thing that puts us over the finish line."
Giraldo is looking forward to both the fun times with her friends and performing on a world class stage. But she knows it's the work before that matters the most.
"It's not about being the one to lead your group, it's not about singing loud to cover up other people's noises," Giraldo said. "It's about singing together and knowing that everybody's voice can be unique on their own, but together, it's just better."
The trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity for educators, too.
"I'm looking forward to the moment where the kids are walking out onto that stage for the first time and getting to look around and just kind of experience the history and realize they are there to be a part of it," Main said. "Students learn through this process that hard work is worth it."
More information about YCKC and its upcoming gala can be found here.
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