Providence St. Mel choir to perform at Carnegie Hall

CHICAGO (WLS) -- How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Practice. Practice.

At Providence St. Mel High School, students are practicing, practicing, practicing. They'll soon be singing at Carnegie Hall.

"When we told them that we were going to Carnegie Hall, they were like ... that was the face they made like, 'You're going to where?'" Jessica Bailey said.

The West Side high schoolers were selected to perform as part of the Distinguished Concerts International Event at the famed New York venue. They will debut the Oratorio "Exodus" written by composer Ernestine Robinson.

"She's an African-American composer and that's really important for us going to a predominantly African-American school and she's a woman. And you don't see many famous female composers so for me that's inspiring," Ebonee Offord said.

"To be able to able to actually perform a well know African-American composer's work, it makes me feel like I'm part of the writing of history," Bailey said.

"The famous concerts that have happened there. And music is that special thing where you never know until the performance happens what special thing may happen. And that may happen for us next Monday night," David Baar, choir director, said.

"I think it will be something they will remember as long as their lifetimes," Executive Chairman Paul Adams said.

For the students, the invitation alone is cause for celebration.

"It just gives me even more pride and lets me know that good things come from Chicago. That this is the place with so much raw potential and that people underestimate us, but we are taking the world by storm," Bailey said.

The choir leaves for New York early Saturday morning. They perform Monday and come back on Tuesday. The choir will get some time to enjoy New York City, and plans to take in a Broadway show.