Vanessa Grieve/IDAHO STATE JOURNAL Deanne Casperson works with her chamber choir students on nailing down the Foreigner song “I Want to Know What Love is” Wednesday afternoon. For video from this story, go to idahostatejournal.com.
BY KENDRA EVENSEN
kevensen@journalnet.com
BLACKFOOT — It’s hard to imagine what Snake River High School junior Tylo Dawson will dream about in the future. That’s because all his dreams appear to be coming true this week.
The 16-year-old will have the opportunity to sing his favorite song with Foreigner, one of his favorite rock groups, on stage in front of thousands of people at the Eastern Idaho State Fair tonight. Honestly, what else could a teen ask for?
“(I’m looking forward to) meeting them and singing with them and interacting with them,” Dawson said. “It’s going to be a great time.”
Dawson is a member of the Snake River High School Chamber Singers which won a local competition hosted by Classic Rock 102.5 FM in partnership with Foreigner and VH1 Save the Music Foundation. The group received $1,000 for its program and the opportunity to back up the band when it performs its 1985 No. 1 hit, “I Want to Know What Love is.”
“It will be great to start off the year with this kind of performance,” Dawson said, adding that he can’t believe his luck.
This is Dawson’s first time participating in the Chamber Singers choir, but it promises to be a memorable year.
The 16-member choir has given up two Fridays and two lunch periods and stayed late after school to prepare for the event. Although the song isn’t as technical as the ones they will sing throughout the rest of the year, they won’t likely get another opportunity to perform in front of an audience this big.
“They get to sing with a rock band and it’s a really popular rock band,” said Choir Director Deanne Casperson, who spent Wednesday’s lunch hour working with her students to improve their vocal quality and stage appearance.
She’s even worked in some basic choreography, though it’s not anything fancy.
“No funny moves,” she said to her choir students. “They’re the show, you’re the backup singers.”
Still, Casperson is eager for her students to make a good impression on both the audience and Foreigner. That’s because this performance is not only a boost for the school, but a chance to win $30,000.
The Chamber Singers’ performance will be recorded and judged against high school choirs across the nation. The winner gets $30,000.
Foreigner founder Mick Jones said during a phone interview Friday that his band is pleased to be a participant in the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, helping restore music education programs in public schools and raising awareness of the positive impact of the arts.
“This is obviously a very important subject for me,” Jones said. “With the economy and the cuts they’ve made in schools, music and the arts are the first thing to go, to be cut. If money gets distributed to schools just to buy musical equipment …, it opens the door for kids to have access to that.”
While the band is now used to performing with local high school choirs, the Snake River kids were getting a crash course Wednesday in how to present themselves in a somewhat different venue.
“This is rock ‘n’ roll music, so you don’t have to sound operatic, but you do have to have (the right sound and emotion),” Casperson said.
That’s a difficult task, especially since the choir won’t have a chance to actually sing with Foreigner before they appear on stage. They have a recorded version of the song they have been using for practice, but a live performance will be more difficult.
“I’m hoping to get everything perfect,” Dawson said.
No matter what happens in the future, Casperson said she is thrilled her students were chosen to participate in this event.
“I am so excited,” she said. “It’s probably the only time they will ever get this opportunity.”
Foreigner will perform at the fairgrounds tonight at 8 p.m.
http://idahostatejournal.com/news/local/vmix_9f88b4b0-bc25-11df-8369-001cc4c03286.html
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