FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Choir to Get to Carnegie Hall in April

When members of Fountain Valley High School’s Concert Choir perform in New York City’s Carnegie Hall in April, it promises to be a high note of their lives.

“It gives our choir the opportunity to showcase our talent . . . to show everybody what we’ve got,” said senior Heath Einstein, a choir member since his freshman year.

For classmate Mishel Popovich, singing at the famed concert hall is a dream come true.

“One of my life’s dreams is being fulfilled,” said Popovich, who plans to study opera.

Ted Reid, the school’s vocal music director, agreed that the choir students’ spring break trip will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“It’s an opportunity for serious music students to say they’ve performed in Carnegie Hall,” Reid said.

The students will perform with the Alabama Youth Chorale on April 10. The combined choirs--250 students strong--will perform a program including choral classics, Renaissance songs and contemporary black gospel. Rodney Eichenberger, director of choral studies at Florida State University, will conduct.

Because the five-day trip is costly--$1,075 per student--only 65 of the 83 choir members will be traveling to New York City, Reid said.

Twelve parent chaperons will also make the trip.

Students have held fund-raisers and some have gotten jobs to help pay for the trip, which will include a Broadway show, he said.

The popularity of the school’s choral program has grown in recent years, said Reid, with 186 students enrolled. In addition, more people are attending school and community concerts; about 600 attended the Christmas performance last year.

“I think people like what we do,” he said, noting that a multicultural theme was presented for the fall concert. “Interesting programming is what draws people to your concerts.”

For those who cannot make the New York City trip, the choir will present its Carnegie Hall program at 7:30 p.m. March 8 at Fountain Valley First Southern Baptist Church, 10351 Ellis Ave.

Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.

The program was threatened by districtwide budget cuts four years ago, but a grass-roots effort was mounted to save it and raise money to pay Reid’s salary.

“To eliminate this program would create more controversy than what is healthy for the district,” Reid said.

Reid said the benefits for students go far beyond the joy of belting out a song.

“I think music speaks to a part of our humanity that language can’t address,” he said. “After a kid has been involved in a good performance, they leave with a peak experience . . . a self-actualization.”

Students also learn discipline, responsibility and teamwork, he said.

“It gives them a great social outlet--and it’s a wholesome activity,” he said.

Popovich said she has met many of her friends through the choir. “It gives you a chance to be a part of a major group. . . . Every day you get to sing with 80 of your friends and make beautiful songs.”

Senior Stacy Bengtson, 17, said the thought of being in the spotlight at Carnegie Hall is nerve-racking.

“You’ll get nervous,” she said. “But we’ll have a good time because it’s something we love to do.”