Local children perform in Sept. 11 memorial concert

When Saville Middle School choir director Rossana Cota informed her concert choir pupils that they would be representing Nevada in the memorial concert "American Musical Salute to New York City Remembering 9/11," the seventh- and eighth-graders were surprised, to say the least.

"I was shocked," said Matthew Shelton, a seventh-grader.

"Everybody was asking, 'Are you kidding?' " said eighth-grader Jurnie Watson.

The Saville Concert Choir was one of four middle school choirs that performed at the memorial concert Oct. 28 in New York City. The concert also featured high school choirs from across the United States.

"It was pretty awesome to give a tribute to our country," Matthew said. "I think we did really good and we got a lot of compliments."

"It was pretty cool," Jurnie agreed. "We were nervous at first, but then we sounded better."

The day before the concert, the choir performed the national anthem at the site of Ground Zero. Visiting the Ground Zero site was an experience the students will always remember.

Seeing the site, Jurnie said, "was like seeing how many people had died."

"It was like, 'Wow.' It made me sad," Matthew said.

Cota, who has taught in the Clark County School District for 19 years, learned of the memorial concert in April after seeing an announcement by American Musical Salute, a music tour company. The pupils paid their own way to attend the concert, which gave many in the 45-member choir a chance to experience New York City for the first time.

"We got to see the Broadway show 'Wicked' and go shopping," Jurnie noted.

"It was big and it was a lot of fun," Matthew said.

"I don't think any of us had been to New York before," Jurnie said. "Getting to experience the trip with other people and your friends was fun."

In other news:

• Faith Lutheran Junior-Senior High School will have its third annual holiday bazaar "Holiday in Style -- A Shopping Day to Remember" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 1 at the school, 2015 S. Hualapai Way. The bazaar will feature jewelry, art, holiday decorations, baked goods and drawings. Proceeds will support the school's Grad Nite, the annual safe, alcohol-free, all-night senior graduation party.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Youth Spotlight, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.