From West High School to Carnegie Hall: Utah choir receives opportunity of a lifetime

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the West High School Choir: performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The choir was invited to showcase its talent at the renowned concert venue in March 2026. The director, Andrea Hernandez, said it’s a significant achievement that feels exciting—and almost unbelievable.

 

How it all started

Hernandez started working at West High in 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said it was a difficult time for performing arts students, as everything shifted online. It took about two years to rebuild the choir program and get students interested in singing again.

“We have many different performances throughout the school year, as well as performances around the community,” Hernandez said. “And one thing that this school … is special for is that we reinstated chorale, which is the top choir at West High School. It had been a long-standing tradition since about 1955, and then it came back just last year. And with the (reinstatement of) chorale, which is 16 members, we were able to go to region and place straight superior ones, which led us to state, where we also received straight superior ones our first year back.”

Since then, the team has consistently demonstrated its talent. Several in-class rehearsals later, the West High Choir marked yet another achievement, one that allowed them to perform at larger stages worldwide.

“Two years ago, we entered ourselves into a competition in California, and we placed in the gold ranking, which is the highest ranking that we could (achieve) at that festival,” Hernandez said. “We applied, then, to the Carnegie Hall venue, and we were accepted.”

Not only that, the West High Choir was selected as the featured choir, meaning they were chosen among multiple choirs across the country to perform three pieces on their own.

“To be able to be a conductor in that space is something I think I never thought of for this job … and it’s such a dream come true.”

‘Choirs are teams’

In a choir, Hernandez explained, every voice plays a role. She described this choir as a team that brings people together through the power of music.

Emma Mitchell, who’s been part of the West High Choir since she was in eighth grade, said she never imagined that she would be singing at Carnegie Hall, and it’s even better that she gets to share the experience with the people she loves.

“It just means so much that I can go with my friends and my teammates to perform at one of the biggest venues in the world,” she said.

Cameron Parke, another member of the West High Choir, said he’s very grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip with his teammates. As someone who wants to continue his music career in the future, Parke said he’s looking forward to learning and growing professionally through the experience.

“This Carnegie Hall trip is a really great experience just to see a little bit what it’s like in New York, as well as like what it’s going to be like performing on some of these bigger stages, and what the expectations are.”

Parke said he feels grateful for educators like Hernandez, who help students chase their dreams and strive for success.

Hernandez feels the same way about her students.

“This specific group is pushing me as a director. They all have such a drive to want to learn more. They’re very hungry. They’re hungry students for knowledge and to become their most excellent and very best selves,” she said.

Now that the hard part is over…

The West High Choir is seeking the community’s help. While they already achieved the unimaginable by being chosen to perform at Carnegie Hall, they still need to raise the money to fund the trip.

“A trip like this, as you can imagine, is hundreds of hundreds of thousands of dollars to get all these students on planes across the country to New York City, and the expenses there are also more than I think that we expected, but we really are working our hardest every day to fundraise and reaching out to local companies, local communities, members to contribute towards our cause,” Hernandez said.

To support the choir’s journey to Carnegie Hall next spring, visit their *SuccessFund page.

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*KSLNewsRadio does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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