SHS Chamber choir sings one song backup for British rock band

Eyes blinded by flashing bright lights, 25 members of the chamber choir, overwhelmed by the deafening roar of the crowd, squinted to get a glimpse of the massive audience as they lined themselves up on stage.

With thousands of people packed in the 20,000-seat Shoreline Amphitheater on Sept. 2, members of British-American rock band Foreigner strummed away at their guitars as they performed their hit “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” while the chamber choir sang backup.

According to sophomore Sathvik Kaliyur, the performance was an opportunity that the school choir just couldn’t pass up. As the only school at the concert to perform backup for one of Foreigner’s songs, the singers were excited for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Foreigner has made it its mission to spread the love of music to a younger audience, and when group went on tour in the area last year, they looked for choirs to sing backup. Music director Andrew Ford answered the call.

Since then, the choir has sung with Foreigner twice: once in September of 2015 and again earlier this month.

According to veteran chamber choir member junior Nirav Adunuthula, “I Wanna Know What Love Is” was an easy song to learn, so the choir was also able to focus on practicing for the fall concert at the same time.

Adunuthula said there were 25 choir performers in Foreigner’s show this year as opposed to 13 last year. This change was intended to give more opportunities for younger singers to sing backup for the group.

After witnessing the success of a famous band, Kaliyur said he is inspired to work even harder in the performing arts.

“As my first performance as a member of the chamber choir, the experience was all the more special — I’d say that it was definitely one of my most life-defining experiences,” Kaliyur said. “I definitely look forward to performing again with Foreigner and on the same massive stage, possibly next year.”