KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Everyone on the stage remembers the day they fell in love with music.
Christian Nolan is a junior at Paseo High School. She fell in love with music at an early age.
“I was, let’s see... three,” she recalled.
Her mother was a choir director at church.
Freshman Levi Parker also fell in love at a young age.
“I would say the first time I heard Michael Jackson is when I fell in love with music. I was probably like five years old,” he explained.
Levi has been looking at the "Man In The Mirror" ever since.
“Michael Jackson is my inspiration,” Parker said. “That’s why I like music as much as I do. That’s why I’m in choir.”
Although he’s only a freshman, Parker is already looking to grow and sow seeds for those that come after him. And he’s excited that he’ll be able to tell future generations he performed at Carnegie Hall.
“That’s why I’m focused on making music a career,” he said. “Because of what Michael Jackson did. He inspired me and I want to inspire other kids.”
Nolan and Parker are just two of the more than two dozen students who want to accomplish something that no choir has done in recent memory, if ever at Paseo.
“Oh, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not many people my age can say they’ve been to Carnegie Hall,” Nolan said.
“It’s really a platform for us to express ourselves,” Parker added. “And show the world just how much potential we have.”
Willie Thornton has the keys to unlock all the potential.
In his five years at Paseo Academy, the choir director knew he’d have a class good enough to perform at the Mecca of Music Halls – Carnegie Hall.
“I just didn’t know it was going to be this year,” Thornton said.
He and his students submitted a demo to the organizers of the festival taking place at the hall. A few weeks later he received the call: “We would love to have you be part of this World Strides Music Festival.”
The young men and women have been working hard to prepare ever since that call.
“Trying to blend in with everybody,” Parker explained. “Trying not to stand out so much so that you’re not taking the spotlight from anybody else.”
Nolan echoed the hard work it takes.
“We literally take papers of music home and back and go over it a million times," he said.
Performing on one of the country's most famous stages isn't something that just happens.
“I understand I’ll probably never get this chance again so I’m going to take advantage of it and do the best that I can when I get there," Parker said.
But to prevent things from going flat, the students need community help.
The trip to Carnegie Hall costs about $60,000.
“I believe that if you invest in them, you will sow a seed and see them grow,” Thornton said.
The students will perform at Carnegie Hall from April 1 through April 4.
There is a Count Down to Carnegie Concert on Feb. 27 at Paseo High School. It starts at 6 p.m. and tickets are $10. All proceeds go toward the trip. If you can’t make it, you can also donate via the KCPS Foundation.
