Southland Prep Students Shine During Performance At Baseball Game
Southland Prep Students Shine During Performance At Baseball Game
By Tia Carol Jones
The Southland College Prep Charter High School’s Girls Ensemble recently performed the Star Spangled Banner at the Chicago White Sox game.
The ensemble is comprised of 10 singers, six students and three alumnae, along with their director, Elizabeth Norman-Sojouner. Danielle Mambo, Christina Agunloye and Alexis Lytle are the alumnae who performed; and Morgan Smith, Aniyah King, Elizabeth Hoskins, Charity Phillips, Camiyah Finne and JeaNaiMalone-Day were the students who performed at the game on Tuesday, Aug. 26th.
Norman- Sojourner said she saw something on the news about a competition to sing at the White Sox game and decided to applyfor the competition. While the ensemble didn’t meet the competition criteria, when they sent in a recording of the ensemble singing, the White Sox wanted to give them an opportunity to perform. Norman-Sojourner said the junior and senior students really stepped up, taking on a rehearsal schedule to prepare for the performance.
Morgan Smith, a senior at Southland College Prep Charter High School, said in preparation for the performance, she and the other singers practiced during their free periods, as well as after school. She said that while there was a lot of rehearsing involved, it was worth it.
“I was very excited about going to sing at the White Sox game because not a lot of people get to do that, so I was just really glad for the opportunity,” Smith said. She said she was very nervous at first, but when she heard how well they were singing, the worry melted away and she was fine.
Aniyah King, a junior at Southland College Prep Charter High School, said she was grateful that she was able to have the opportunity to perform at Rate Field as part of the ensemble, and that she was chosen by Norman-Sojourner as one of the singers to perform. King said she was nervous at first to sing, because of the amount of people at the game and the fact that it was being recorded, but she felt good in the moment.
Norman-Sojourner has been at Southland College Prep Charter High School for six years as the choir director. She has been connected to the school since it was founded in 2010 by Dr. Blondean Y. Davis. She would often perform as a soloist during the school’s graduation ceremonies and other special events. She said Davis convinced her that Southland was the place Norman-Sojourner needed to be. She said being part of the staff at Southland has been the best decision she ever made.
Norman-Sojouner has performed for four Presidents, at the Kennedy Center, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Musikverein in Vienna. She said as an artist, it was the greatest feeling to have the opportunity to usher younger singers to the next level of performance. She said while the performance arena is a tough one, she knew her students were ready, they just needed an opportunity.
“I just felt a groundswell of pride,” she said.
For more information about Southland College Prep Charter High School, visit www.scphs.org.
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