The Ballard High School choir, under the direction of Courtney Rowley, has been invited by the University of Washington’s Giselle Wyers to accompany her in a performance at the Lincoln Center in New York City on Memorial Day 2010.

Wyers, an assistant professor of choral studies at the University of Washington, was invited to be a guest conductor for the performance, sponsored by Distinguished Concerts International in New York City.

Wyers had seen Ballard’s choir perform a number of times within the past year and was really impressed with the growth of the program and thought it would be an exciting opportunity for the choir to attend, Rowley said.

The choir will be accompanying Wyers in a performance of Randall Thompson’s "Frostiana."

“This is a large piece of work with the orchestra, so we’ll be working on that over the next year and most likely also working on other songs on our own that we can perform around places in New York,” Rowley said.

Rowley expects the 38-student choir will be gaining more students within the next year before the performance.

“I feel like it’s such an honor,” junior Leah Leinbach said. “ This is my first time doing anything musically at Ballard and I’m a junior and all of a sudden we’re going to Disneyland and we got invited to New York. It’s really exciting for the school, especially for the choir. It's something to be proud of.”

On May 15, the choir will be joined by the Ballard marching band to perform at a festival in Los Angeles followed by a performance at Disneyland.

Rowley has been the director of the Ballard High School choir for the past two years. She has turned the choir program around at Ballard High School, junior Jeff Gordan said.

“I’m definitely proud of being part of this choir, especially when she first got here,” Gordon said. “The program has grown, and I’m proud to be a part of a choir that got invited to sing in New York City. It’s a once in a life time opportunity.”

The choir is hoping to get support from the community and will be hosting a spring concert on May 27. The choir will have more fundraisers throughout the year.

“It’s a wonderful honor and it’s also a big commitment,” Rowley said. “ So the kids know that they’re going to have to work really hard not just musically but also to fundraise. We appreciate the support the Ballard community has always given us, so we certainly welcome support in the next year. Our goal is to have all students attend so we work hard to have lots of scholarship money available and to make it possible for every student to go.”