Dothan High show choir performing at Kennedy Center

The Dothan High School Show Choir is traveling to the nation’s capital this weekend to prepare for the National Presidents Day Choral Festival.

The choir will perform Monday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and the students are thrilled by the opportunity.

“This is my first year being able to sing in the choir, so to go to something this big blows my mind,” said Chandler Sawyers, 17. “I never imagined I would be able to do something like this. This is my first time on a plane or anything going this far from home.”

Choir Director Haley Capan received the invitation to perform at the event back in August.

“We received a letter of invitation to perform with Dr. Andre Thomas, who is the choral director at Florida State University, and I jumped on it because he’s so popular and well known,” Capan said. “I just thought it’d be a really good opportunity for my students to go and do something out of Alabama. There’s so much history there, (and) the kids will have the opportunity to view a lot of the monuments.”

Alaina Fowler, 17, said she understands the significance of the performance.

“It’s kind of a big deal for me because I love to sing and I love to perform, so doing it in such a bigger setting than what I’m used to is really exciting,” she said. “There’s no big (pressure) for me, just excitement.”

Trevor Twine admitted he does feel some more pressure than usual.

“It means a lot,” said Twine, 18. “This is my third year in show choir, and I’ve never had the opportunity to go on a trip of this magnitude. It’s a great opportunity to go up there and represent Dothan High, and to be able to maybe even see the president would be a fantastic opportunity.”

While the group has been preparing at Dothan High, it will get another few days in Washington to rehearse for the performance.

The extra preparation time is particularly helpful since the students are working outside their comfort zone.

“The kids will rehearse twice a day for three days and then perform,” Capan said. “Even though we’ve prepared here, they’ll get more than enough rehearsal time there. Here we mainly focus on pop and music that the kids are really interested in. The music we’re doing there is more of the quote-unquote choral literature, and it’s a little more challenging than they’re used to. I have very talented students and I have no doubt they’ll do exceptionally well at the performance.”

Twine said the group is well prepared for the experience.

“We’ve done a lot of singing and musical preparation,” he said. “Ms. Capan’s done a wonderful job preparing us for what we’re going into mentally and musically. There’s a little bit of (pressure), but nothing we can’t handle as a group.”

The students share a distinct confidence in the ability of the choir as a whole.

“We’ve actually gone through most of the songs so far, and I believe we’re very prepared,” Sawyers said. “I know it’s going to be huge and it’s going to be fun. I feel comfortable with what I’ve learned so far. I believe my classmates and I can go through whatever they want us to do.”

For Fowler, just being in the choir is a dream come true.

“I started singing when I was 5 or 6. My dad’s a music minister, so I grew up around it,” she said. “I always wanted to be part of this class. I always dreamed of coming to high school and being part of a group like this. It’s exciting to be around people who love the same things I do.”