Choir students at Fulmore Middle School may be taking the stage at Carnegie Hall with the support of the Austin community.
World-renowned composer and conductor Francisco Núñez invited the students to join a performance of his composition, “Music for Treble Voices,” Jan. 20. The performance is part of the Distinguished Concert Singers International, which brings together choir groups from around the world.
“We are ecstatic and honored to be hand-picked for this awesome opportunity,” Yvette Carroll, choir director at Fulmore Middle School, said. “But, we need the community’s support to help ensure our students can go and experience what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with one of the nation’s leading composers.”
Carroll accepted the invitation to perform if all of her choir students had an equal opportunity to attend the event, regardless of resources, because almost 76 percent of students at Fulmore are from economically disadvantaged communities. The school can cover only a small portion of the trip’s estimated $45,000 cost.
The school is in the final push of a fundraising effort, and needs the Austin community’s support to reach their goal.
Núñez, director of the Youth Choir of New York and a 2011 MacArthur Award winner, encourages inner-city youth to engage in the arts through singing. He invited the students to perform at Carnegie Hall after hearing them perform at the Texas Music Educators Conference in Dallas earlier this year.
“What I saw were children who were fully engaged and singing beautifully under an enthusiastic and extremely skilled conductor,” Núñez said. “From this kind of experience with my own chorus, I know that singing at Carnegie Hall is something these children will never forget and will forever influence how they live their lives.”
To prepare for the concert, the students hope to travel to New York City for four days of rehearsals before performing at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 20.
To learn more or help the students meet their fundraising goal, please visit http://www.fulmoresings.org/sponsor.