Not only did 25 students from Marsteller Middle School’s Women’s Choir perform for the President and the First Lady, Dec. 14, but they were told they were one of the best student choirs to have performed there this year.
“Your choir is the buzz of the social offices today,” choir teacher, Julie Phelan was told by a staff member of the First Lady’s Social Office. While her staff regularly hears choirs of all ages from around the country, they were impressed with the young women from Bristow and Nokesville.
The celebrities attending Michelle Obama’s holiday party seemed likewise impressed. Stars like Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell on ABCs “Modern Family,” and Justin Long, the actor best known for personifying 'Mac' in Apple commercials, took several minutes away from mingling to enjoy the renditions of Christmas songs performed by the Marsteller Women’s Choir.
They were just realizing what the Marsteller community had already known: that their choirs are something special.
“It’s cool to sing at this school. Everyone wants to be a part of a winning team,” said Phelan, which may explain why she has an elite audition choir of 50+ eighth-grade girls, or "young women" as they are called in choir class.
Marsteller has a unique elective program, requiring all students to take a performance art class in their first two years . By eighth grade, a large percentage of students take pride in the performing arts and elect to participate.
It also helps that the young men and women have separate choirs at a time when performing in front of peers can cause anxiety in students. The separate choirs promote pride and mature behavior.
Phelan also likes to challenge her ensemble, so she seeks out new opportunities for them to perform and compete. Over the summer, she saw the First Lady’s Social Office was looking for choirs to perform at White House events throughout the year. Knowing her young ladies were up for the challenge, she submitted an audition tape.
Not only were the girls chosen, but they were chosen to perform at a high profile holiday party. Now, she also had the difficult task of paring down her already elite audition choir to its 25 best members. She held auditions for those sought-after spots.
What resulted was a once in a lifetime experience for many of the women involved; while for others, the experience may prove to be a stepping stone for many more opportunities should they pursue a career in music.
The highlight of the experience, for everyone, seemed to be the opportunity to meet the President and First Lady.
Phelan was never sure if her choir would get to meet the President, so during the days and weeks leading up to the event she made no promises to her students. However, on the day of the event, she was told by their liaison the Obamas would like to meet with them. Not wanting her students to be nervous, she kept that information secret until after their almost four-hour performance.
Choir student Riley Scott said she was “pretty nervous at first” to perform at the White House, but her nerves subsided as they began to sing.
“It was kind of dream-like, because we didn’t expect it to happen so fast,” Scott said.
Her classmate was surprised at the great reception they received.
“We would sing, and people would stop and listen to us for a long time. I was thinking, ‘wow, we’re really good, famous people are listening to us,’” Kayla Bianchi said.
Justin Long jumped into a photograph of the Marsteller Women's Choir. It is something he is known to do and he posted the photos on his Twitter page.
Yet, the biggest celebrity in attendance was not an actor. Students were thrilled to meet Mr. and Mrs. Obama and to take a private tour of the White House. The experience proved to be beyond their expectations.
“When we went to take a picture with the President and his wife she (Michelle Obama) put her arm around me. It was so awesome,” said choir student Megan Moore.
Phelan said the President and First Lady were both extremely personable, and were able to easily chat with the young women. According to Phelan, Mrs. Obama asked one girl where she could get the red streaks the student wore in her hair.
“I want some of those; how do I get some of those?” the girls remember her saying. They describe Mrs. Obama as very likable and down-to-earth. They almost forgot she was the First Lady, because she talked to them as though she was one of their friends' mothers.
Phelan hopes to create more memorable experiences for her students by continuing to challenge them through music and performances, such as singing the National Anthem at a George Mason Men’s Basketball Game this season, among other unique opportunities. "Raising the bar" as she calls it is her way of teaching students pride in their abilities.
“We affectionately call it the Marsteller way. It’s a sense of pride in who we are as people. And we try to teach them that as singers, it’s not about us; it’s about other people. Singers are meant to serve, and there is a joy in that, to serve other people,” she said.
Marsteller Women's Choir, White House Performers- Soprano 1: Casey de la Cruz, Chloe Dupre, Alyssa Frates, Emily Lowe, Elizabeth Martin, Megan Moore, Emily Murphy, Claire Niermeier, Hannah Wojtysiak; Soprano 2: Aria Austin, Jenna Brown, Emma Converse, Jenna Musselman, Jillian Ray, Riley Scott, Delaney Tobin, Renne Whiteley; Alto: Maisha Alam, Kayla Bianchi, Hayley Carver, Bethany Fowler, Ileeana Johnson, Kimberlea McCloud, Olivia Nayeri, Megan Underwood.
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