By Molly Lovell
Editor
     More than 30 members of Scarborough High School’s concert and select chorus got the rare opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to sing at the National Cathedral last month.
     The school’s Choral Director Suzanne Powell sent an audition tape with two sacred a cappella pieces to the cathedral’s staff, which after hearing the tape gave the group an invitation to sing. The group performed for roughly 250 tourists and regular attendants of the cathedral on April 29.
     “It was pretty special,” said Jodie Mattsson, a four-year veteran of the Scarborough High School chorus program.
     Powell said she has never heard her choir members sing as well as they did at the National Cathedral and said the acoustics and organ were something that they most likely have never experienced before. “It was awe inspiring. I feel they really rose to the occasion,” she said.
     Powell said the National Cathedral’s music director and assistant director are strict about who they invite to perform. “The quality has to be perfect,” she said.
     While in Washington, D.C. students were also exposed to the culture of the city. “It was very important for me to expose them to a little bit of the architecture, music and the spirit of Washington, D.C.,” Powell said. “I hope it whetted their appetite to come back and see more down the road.”
     The students even sang the National Anthem when they visited the Lincoln Memorial. “It was very soft, gentle and reverent,” Powell said.
     Students visited the Holocaust Museum as well as the Smithsonian. They also had the opportunity to meet Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
     Students said the senators were personable and motivated them to pursue their goals.
     Amanda Brezack expected them to be “untouchable,” she said, which turned out not to be the case. Students said the Senators actually mentioned a recent bill having to do with Iraq and said it made them realize how much work their senators are doing in Washington.
     Powell said it’s important to her that chorus students have the opportunity to take a trip out of state each year. In the past students have performed at Epcot at Walt Disney World as well as participated in a competition in New York City last year where they won a silver medal.
     “To me, it is extremely motivating,” she said of such trips. Powell said it gives the students an opportunity to compete at a higher level, polish their performance abilities and it also teaches them to deal with the ups and downs of such tours and how to get along well with one another.
     “It’s what music education is all about,” she said.
     The students didn’t encounter any snags during their trip to Washington, D.C., which Powell attributes to the close bond the students have formed with one another.
     Student Natalie Pauwels described the group as a family who is always looking to add new members.
     “We love each other and everyone is welcomed.”