Rockin out with Foreigner

By Jay Turner

The members of the Canton High Pops Chorus finally experienced their “rock-star moment” as they took the stage and performed alongside legendary rock band Foreigner in front of 20,000 fired-up fans at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield last Saturday night.

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was their big prize for winning the annual high school chorus contest put on by Boston radio station Easy 99.1 FM. Led by their choral director, Catherine Eckersley, the students sang back-up on Foreigner’s hit song “I Want to Know What Love Is” and then were warmly introduced to the crowd by Foreigner’s lead singer, Luis Maldonado.

Reflecting on the importance of creative self-expression for young people and preserving funding for music and art education, Maldonado reminded the crowd, “These are our future singers, our future bands, and our future songwriters — and they are worth it.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, with all sincerity, this is our future,” he said. “Please keep music and the arts alive.”

In addition to getting to see the concert and perform on stage, the chorus was also awarded a $1,000 cash prize, with $500 coming from Foreigner and the other $500 from the contest’s presenting sponsor, Canton-based FM Generator.

Mike Molway, FM Generator’s owner, said he was thrilled to learn that his hometown school chorus had been chosen for the honor, and the company also provided each participant with a custom t-shirt to wear for the performance that featured a Canton “C” on the front and “Foreigner x Canton Pops Chorus” on the back.

Eckersley, who besides leading the CHS chorus also serves as the performing arts coordinator for the entire Canton school district, got to join the students on stage for the performance and said it was a night they will all remember for a long time.

“The excitement backstage was extraordinary,” Eckersley said. “I am so proud of the students for all their hard work. I was thrilled to introduce some of them to their first rock concert and others to their first ever concert.”

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