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Westminster youth choir invited to perform at White House

By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
   Westminster Conservatory’s Cantus Choir is composed of middle school students, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have high standards for the venues in which they perform.
   And what could be more prestigious than singing at the White House?
   This week, children’s choir program director Patricia Thel, who is also the conductor of concerts for the conservatory, will join her students on a trip to the nation’s capital for a holiday performance in its most famous home.
   The invitation for the Thursday performance came after Ms. Thel sent in an audio sample from Cantus, which is an audition choir for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students.
   It’s the third time one of Ms. Thel’s choirs has been summoned to the White House in the past several years, with the last two trips occurring during the presidencies of both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
   Although there are more than 30 students in the choir, White House rules allow only 20 students to perform, Ms. Thel said.
   But the students in the group agreed that the seventh- and eighth-graders featured on the audio audition should be the ones to make the trip, which is an exciting prospect for both her and the students, she said.
   ”I think as a choral director, giving children a real incentive to rehearse and make sure that it’s absolutely clean and just precise is a wonderful thing to begin with,” said Ms. Thel. “But it’s really great to go there and have them contribute to the festivities in a place where it’s hallowed ground. When you enter the White House, there’s a feeling where you understand it’s for Americans. It’s not like walking into a palace. It feels like someone’s home.”
   And “there’s no knowing” who might show up, Ms. Thel said, noting that the last two performances were attended by first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, respectively.
   ”If you expect to see anybody at all, it would be a first lady,” she said.
   That kind of atmosphere isn’t lost on the singers.
   Ms. Thel said she tries to emphasize that singing at the White House is akin to civic responsibility — a lesson illustrated by the Marines who escort the children from their green room to the performance “in full military regalia.”
   ”It’s great for them to see those men and woman as examples of people who serve. And I tell them they’re there to serve too, in a very humble way,” she said. “Even if it’s singing on a White House tour.”
   Being part of the workings of the event is certainly different than taking a field trip to the facility, she said.
   ”They’re contributing something,” she said. “There’s a different quality to that than there is just walking through.”
   Afterward, students seem to appreciate having been a part of it, Ms. Thel said, noting that some former singers, who were in the choir program for several years and who were able to attend the White House, still hold it as a special memory.
   ”A lot of them keep up with me and e-mail me even once they’re off in college,” she said. “A lot of them still say, ‘I still remember going to the White House.’”
   But despite the magnitude of the performance, students in the past haven’t felt too much pressure, Ms. Thel said.
   ”The staff at the White House makes you feel so comfortable that the children don’t ever seem to get nervous,” she said. “The last two times that I’ve gone, no one was nervous.”
   Still, Ms. Thel said she’s keeping rehearsals “as low key as possible” before the trip.
   ”I’ve asked them not to think about, but to only think about the music,” she said. “I want them to stay focused on what they have to do. When they get there, they can sing and then it will dawn on them what it is.”