Students to Sing with Kenny Rogers (VIDEO)

Late Thursday afternoon, after the bell had rung and many students were home for the day, six children lined up inside of a classroom at the Irwin School.

They stood and faced their teacher, Michelle Moore, and waited for her direction. Then they sang.

These performers were hand picked from throughout the district to sing Monday, Dec. 19, at the State Theater during a performance in the Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits/Christmas Tour. The group will be joined by the 35-member East Brunswick High School Concert Choir lead by Jennifer Sengin.

Moore said the district did its best to be fair when it came to selecting the six elementary school students who would perform.

“From what I understand, one of the producers from the Kenny Rogers tour initially called (Supervisor of Arts Education) Jeff Lesser, to see if we would be interested in providing six elementary singers from our district for the concert,” said Moore “Upon approval, the elementary music teachers within our district were asked to select potential students from our school chorus.  Some of the criteria in selecting students would be students who sing with great intonation (pitch), are focused and attentive in class, have an outgoing personality, and good stage presence.  When names were submitted to our supervisors, calls were made, and were basically selected on a first come, first served basis.  We did want a fair representation for all schools, so calls were made on a rotation basis.”

Those students are Meaghan Kelly, a fifth-grader from Frost, Aleda Jomy, a fifth-grader from Irwin, Nikole Marchese, a fourth-grader from Memorial, Jahhad Price, a fifth-grader from Chittick, JohnMark Ofrasio, a fifth-grader from Lawrence Brook, and Emma Chace, an Irwin school fifth-grader.

Whether it has been in the district’s music programs, or during private music, singing, and dance classes, each student has been performing for years, which may make hitting the big stage with a country western singing star a little less nerve wracking.

“I’m really used to it,” said Nikole. “I’ve been dancing in competitions and the nationals a lot, so I’m used to people watching me.”

While she may be a dancer at heart, Nikole says she also loves singing.

“It gives me passion,” she said. “I feel like I can open any door anywhere and just sing anything. It gives me confidence.”

Meaghan Kelly has been singing for three years and is excited about being in the show.

“I was shocked. That’s how I felt,” she said. “I’m kind of excited. It’s going to be fun.”

Aleda said she also is excited, but isn’t afraid to admit that she’s a little nervous about climbing on stage tonight. To prepare, she and her peers have been practicing at home, in the morning, during lunch, on the bus and whenever they find a spare moment.

“I do it in the  morning before I get on the bus, so I get the song suck in my head for the rest of the day. It’s catchy music,” said Aleda.

Price, who says he has sung at Juilliard and elsewhere, said he practices every chance he gets.

“I practice before I go to school, when I get back, before dinner an even in the shower,” he said. “Sometimes late at night, when I didn’t go to sleep yet, my parents are in the next from me, and I’m singing and they say ‘Oh my God, how come you haven’t gone to sleep yet.' ”

Price also is an accomplished pianist and violinist who is no stranger to performing.

JohnMark said that while the songs are all new to him, he hasn’t had any trouble remembering them.

“At the first rehearsal we just learned it, and by the second we knew it,” he said.

JohnMark performs in various district choirs, the Rutgers Children’s Choir and his own church choir.

“I like singing because its fun and I get to express myself.”

Emma, who said she’s in her second year of horus, has a few jitters about the performance, but is sure she’ll pull through.

“I love being able to sing,” she said. “I'm getting a little nervous, but I’ll be fine once I get on stage.”

Much of the music is new to these students, most of who had never heard of Kenny Rogers before they were asked to perform. However, there is one person who is excited.

“I grew up listening to Kenny Rogers, and to see the students work with someone as accomplished as Kenny Rogers is really an honor,” said Moore. “ As many of these students have had experience performing on stage, I think this will be different from anything they've experienced previously.  I am really excited to hear them perform with all of the professional musicians and singers.  I can't wait to see the final production.”

To get tickets to tonight’s show, click HERE.