Singing the national anthem can make even the most experienced singer nervous. It is a difficult song to sing and one that holds such meaning for audiences. The 34 members of the Chapel Hill Music Sensations were certainly nervous as they stood before the crowd at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen on July 1, 2005. But as they began to sing “O say, can you see…,” their voices rang out loud and clear.

Led by vocal music teacher Diana Ciccotelli, the Chapel Hill Music Sensations are fifth graders at Chapel Hill Elementary School. “During the school year, these students practice 90 minutes a week, after school,” says Ms. Ciccotelli. The group sings an assortment of two- and three-part music written for children’s voices.

Ms. Ciccotelli notes that while the group was “honored to have the opportunity to sing the national anthem before an Ironbirds game,” this was not its only major recent performance. In May 2005, for the second year in a row, the Chapel Hill Music Sensations competed in the Music in the Parks program at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Both years, the group received first place excellent ratings and won the competition’s top award, the Espirit de Corps award.

Music in the Parks is national project of the Educational Services Network. Through it children from local schools perform vocal and instrumental music in amusement parks. For the event at Hershey, most participating schools came from Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Story by Diana Spencer, Communications Officer Photo courtesy Chapel Hill Elementary