SANIBEL, Fla. — Students from the Sanibel School are set to make a melodious mark on the world-renowned stage of Carnegie Hall in New York.
The Seahorse Chorale, an ensemble from the Sanibel School, has been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall on April 1st, an honor that has left these young musicians buzzing with excitement.
"I've been singing for quite a long time for maybe five or six years, and I've never done something as big as going to Carnegie Hall so I'm very excited to do it." Said Jackson Halliburton, one of the singers in the Chorale.
Other students also expressed how beneficial it's been to join the choir program in their school.
"When I first joined the Seahorse Corral, I was really shy and didn't have any confidence in my voice at all. Now I love it a lot, and I have a lot more confidence," said Genevieve Haas, another student in the choir.
The choir is led by the music teacher, Joey Giangreco. With a background in choral music since the fourth grade, Giangreco submitted an audition recording along with an application to Carnegie Hall, while also sharing their journey recovering from Hurricane Ian
Giangreco emphasizes that the chorale's story extends far beyond disaster recovery,
"It is an important part of our story, but of course, not the only part of our story. We have a very strong music program here at the Sanibel School, and many students in Seahorse Corral have been a part of the program since I've had them when they were in kindergarten," Giangreco stated.
Now, these students, along with their families, are actively fundraising to turn this dream into a reality. The total cost of the four-day trip to New York is approximately $2,500 per student. Around 40 students are contributing about one-quarter of these costs directly.
Their commitment to making this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity happen is shown through their first fundraiser, a car wash event scheduled at "Bank of the Islands" this upcoming Saturday.
Other fundraising events for the trip can be found at:
https://sanibelschoolfund.betterworld.org/
