This Saturday, 240 students from Chenery Upper Elementary’s choral program will take the field at Fenway Park to sing the national anthem, opening the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.
“We are going to have a sea of red, and a sea of Belmont in those bleachers,” said Sara Carson, the choral director at Chenery Upper Elementary School, who estimated that as of May 20, 1,101 tickets had been sold to members of the community to attend the game.
Although they have been preparing in smaller groups since January, the students will have had only two hour-long rehearsals as a collective before they take the field.
The invitation from the Red Sox to perform came two years after Carson sent audio of the chorus to the team of her students singing the national anthem. The Chenery students in the choral program have a tradition of singing the anthem at school soccer and lacrosse games.
Carson, whose family is made up of avid Red Sox fans, said she sees the performance as an opportunity for members of the school community to bring together their “athletic and musical selves.”
The event also marks the culmination of the first year of the upper elementary choral program, which resulted from the reconfiguration of Chenery Upper Elementary School to house grades four through six.
The event creates an opportunity for students to bond with one another across grade levels, said Carson.
“It’s really nice to see my friends from other grades,” said fifth-grader Olivia Olowinski.
Olowinski’s classmate, Maeve Colleary, said she is feeling a mix of emotions as she heads into the performance, including excitement, nervousness, and a hope the experience will help her continue to grow into a more confident singer.
According to Carson, all students in the school’s choral program were invited to participate. Of the more than 350 choral students, 240 opted to sing, which Carson said the Red Sox have called “the largest community event they can remember.”
Carson said the students were not required to audition, building on Chenery Upper Elementary’s value of inclusivity.
“We are made up of so many kids from all different areas, and I think it’s a very, very special thing when you can get so many kids together, when everyone is invited to make something beautiful,” she said.
Fourth-grader Matteo Bisceglia-Kane said he hopes to get a sense of pride from the experience of performing.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, getting to do this in sixth, fifth and fourth grade—it’s just very special,” said sixth-grader Patrick Murphy.
Carson said she hopes the event will become a core memory for the students and sees singing as a lifelong skill they have the opportunity to develop through the choral program.
“Whether they’re singing when they’re cooking when they’re 25 years old, or singing to nieces, nephews, [and] children—it’s a skill they’ll use forever,” she said.
The game, the third in a four-game homestand against the Orioles, is scheduled to begin at 4:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.