Every Voice Choirs, an Ensemble-in-Residence children’s choir based in the Program in Music & Music Education at TC, sang the national anthem for the National Hockey League's 2018 Winter Classic game between the New York Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. Held at Citi Field (baseball home of the New York Mets) on New Year’s Day, the game and performance were televised on NBC.

After rehearsing daily for a week, the children, conducted by Every Voice Choirs Director Nicole Becker (Ed.D. '11), braved frigid temperatures to participate in a dress rehearsal on New Year’s Eve and then perform the next day on the 10th anniversary of the Winter Classic. They sang an arrangement of the anthem, accompanied by a backing track, created by TC doctoral student Drew Coles.

I was especially proud of them for barely flinching when the fireworks went off during ‘the rockets red glare’ and for maintaining their poise during the four-jet flyover that was timed for two seconds after our final cut-off,” says Becker. 

Many of the singers stayed on to cheer the Rangers to a 3-2 overtime victory.