By Benjamin Floyd, For the Valley Record
On May 29, the Fall City Elementary School choir had the opportunity to sing the national anthem at T-Mobile Park as the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros in a hard-fought, extra-inning 2-1 win.
Choir Director Jaime Schultz was contacted by the Mariners’ front office this past December as part of their year-round search for local musical groups and performers. She was required to submit a video recording of the student choir, which evidently met the standard — the 85 young singers of the Fall City Elementary Choir received the call up to the big leagues in the first week of March.
“It was a really wild experience for them. They are used to performing for their parents, so to have that experience, to be standing there in the park as Julio (Rodriguez) and J.P. Crawford were throwing the ball around, was great. Even during the rehearsal, their eyes were so big,” said Schultz.
The excitement of the occasion was not only limited to the students. Schultz reports that almost 500 tickets were sold to family, friends and school staff who had come to support the students and enjoy a day at the ballpark. With a J.P. Crawford sacrifice fly to claim the Mariners’ third win in the four-game series, the family outing couldn’t have been better.
This performance comes as a touching capstone of Schultz’s role as choir teacher at Fall City Elementary School. She began the role in 2015 — her first job out of college — and has since been helping students find their singing voices. Schultz is set to move to Wenatchee at the end of this academic year.
Reflecting upon her role and the importance of choral activities, Schultz said, “My favorite thing about choir is that, at Fall City, there is no auditioning. It is really a ‘come one, come all’ approach. These students get to a part of something big … it is so important for the students who might not feel at home in the sporting community.”
Schultz leaves these young students with a mentorship they will cherish, and a game day performance for the mantlepiece.
For those who missed the chance to see local talent on the big stage, mark your calendar for June 16 as the choir students of Snoqualmie Elementary School are set to sing for the Mariners this Father’s Day. And stick around for the baseball afterwards — the June 16 will be the final match of a three-game home series against the Texas Rangers.
