What do Billie Holliday, Judy Garland, the Beatles and the Kingfisher High School choir have in common?

They’ve all performed at the famed Carnegie Hall.

The most recent of those events took place Sunday, April 14, when 21 KHS choir members took part in the National Youth Choir in one of the world’s most famous music venues in New York City.

“It fulfilled a two-year dream,” said KHS choir director Diann Magnus.

But it was more than a dream…it was reality.

••• The quest for Carnegie Hall began way back in 2022 when KHS choir members won first place in the Heritage Festival in Nashville, Tenn.

With that came the invite to New York and the fundraising began.

The funds were secured and early on the morning of Friday, April 12, a group of nearly 30 people representing Kingfisher boarded a plane for NYC.

Students taking part in the trip were Caroline Swafford, Julianna Austin, Audrey Long, Amber Beagle, Bianca Garcia, Cherith Stephenson, Amya Reyes, Elizabeth Pickle, Breona McConnell, Elijah Johnson, Caleb Hendryx, TJ Washington, Damien Haynes, Andrew Takape, Zappa Ellis, Hunter Miller, Raechel Evans, Charlie Johnson, Hannah Click, Indy Barker and Olivia Reyes.

Adults joining Magnus as parent sponsors were Lisa McConnell, Muffy Stephenson, Desiree Austin, Deborah McIntosh, Rachel Bryant and Jannason Long.

Once there, the students began their rehearsal with their conductor, Jessica Napoles and the six other choirs from Delaware, New York, Virginia, Colorado, Florida and Ohio.

All told the National Youth Choir consisted of 180 students.

After the first rehearsal, the Kingfisher group walked through Times Square to their restaurant and then to the Richard Rodgers Theater for one of the trip’s highlights.

The students and parents took in the Broadway show “Hamilton.”

Evans is one of several seniors who made the trip. She’s the president of the choir and has a multitude of honors during her career, including earning All-State multiple years.

“I had never seen Hamilton before, let alone live on broadway,” Evans said. “It was absolutely incredible and I could not ask for a better experience!”

She wasn’t the only one impressed.

“I have been to NYC before, but had not been to a musical on Broadway,” Magnus said. “The theater was small and you could not have a bad seat. You were close enough to see all of the actors and hear their fabulous voices.”

The students rehearsed most of the day Saturday and even had a surprise visit from composer Elaine Hagenberg, who worked with the choir on her piece, “The Music of Stillness.”

For their two-hour lunch break, the students and sponsors walked to Rockefeller Center.

After rehearsals, they ate at Puglio’s in Little Italy where they also did some souvenir shopping and ate cannoli from a local bakery around the corner from the restaurant.

They remained tourists early Sunday and visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum as well as One World Observatory. From there, they could see practically all of NYC, including the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the Brooklyn Bridge.

After lunch at the hotel, they prepared for the evening’s concert with one last rehearsal, leaving a little time to rest before changing into their uniforms.

And then it was showtime.

The National Youth Choir performed six pieces: “Laudate Pueri” (Praise the Lord, Children) by Mozart, “A Jubilant Song” by Norman Dello Joio, “Music of Stillness” by Elaine Hagenberg, “Son de la Vida” by Jose Galvan, “Don’t Be Afraid” by Jennifer McMillan and “United in Purpose” by Rollo Dilworth.

“It was truly a dream to stand on the same stage that so many talented people have and sing to a beautiful auditorium,” Evans said.

“Being able to visit New York was a dream come true and getting to perform there only made it that much more magical.”

Magnus said the trip that could prove once-in-a-lifetime for some brought her an immense amount of joy.

“It was such an honor to be invited to sing with the National Youth Choir,” she said. “My favorite part was watching the students experience NYC and Carnegie.

“That was priceless.” Evans plans to attend the University of Central Oklahoma after high school to major in psychology and minor in vocal music.

Experiencing New York City this spring only fueled her aspirations beyond college.

“This trip only strengthened my desire to move there once I finish college,” Evans said.

“And I can’t wait to return.”