Reedley College choir to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York
'I thought something like this would never happen and the fact that it is... that's the most exciting part for me.'
REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Reedley College choir is headed to the Big Apple to perform at Carnegie Hall.
It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that student Alina Iriarte says she never dreamed would happen.
"It's a huge step. I thought something like this would never happen and the fact that it is... that's the most exciting part for me," she says.
It's a new experience for the 14 students heading to New York City.
They've been preparing for the trip and actively fundraising since last fall.
"Once my students heard about the opportunity, they seized onto the idea and started fundraising, reaching out to the school to see if they could support us and it just started happening. This year is all about making this dream a reality for them," says choir conductor Kirstina Collins.
Adds student Richard Avila: "It took a while for all of us to process it. We're going to New York and going to sing in Carnegie Hall."
From vocal exercises to learning a new language, getting ready for the performance hasn't been easy.
"We've all been strenuously preparing for this. it's 15 minutes each and one of them is in German so we've been studying German and I know some of us have been exercising to help build our lung capacity," says Iriarte.
The students will head to New York on Wednesday, with the big performance set for Sunday, April 17th.
