CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL’S Renaissance Show Choir, shown above with choral director Shirley Pace, back row left, will appear at Riverbend Saturday night on the Coca-Cola Stage. The show choir, which was selected from a video submitted to a Chattanooga-area contest, will perform around 9:30 p.m. alongside the world-renowned rock band Foreigner. Submitted photo
We’ll know on Saturday. The Cleveland High singers have been selected to appear on Riverbend’s Coca-Cola Stage Saturday night with one of the world’s most renowned bands. The local teens will perform alongside the band Foreigner, singing one of the band’s all-time top songs, “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
“This is great, and we’re very excited,” said Cleveland High choral director Shirley Pace.
Pace has approximately 30 students in the show choir, but only about 25 will perform on Saturday night.
“This didn’t happen (being selected) until after school was out for the summer,” said the CHS faculty member. “A few of the students are away on vacation.”
The Cleveland High Show Choir submitted a video to KZ102, along with several other musical groups in the area, in competition to be selected to appear with Foreigner.
The Cleveland High group will also receive a $500 award from Foreigner’s Grammy Foundation to be used for music programs in the Cleveland City Schools system. Saturday’s night concert will begin around 9:30 p.m.
Foreigner, an English band, has been around for more than 30 years in various forms with some of the world’s top musicians being members of the group through the years.
Three early members, Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood and Ed Gagliardi, were from the U.S. The band has had a number of top rock selections on the charts over the years, in America and around the world.
In addition to “I Want to Know What Love Is,” there was “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Long, Long Way from Home,” “Hot Blooded,” “Double Vision,” “Blue Morning Blue Day,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Juke Box Hero, “Break it Up,” and others.
On May 14, 1988, the band headlined Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden. This appearance culminated with the band singing “I Want to Know What Love Is” with the band accompanied by Phil Collins; Crosby, Stills and Nash; Roberta Flack and others from the Atlantic Records label.
In 2007 the band appeared with Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings on a London stage, and in early 2010 Foreigner teamed with Styx and Kansas for the United in Rock Tour. In 2011 the band played in India and toured England and the United States with Styx, Night Ranger and Journey.
The Cleveland High Show Choir is excited to be performing a song the band has performed with some of the world’s top entertainers.
