2012, Washington D.C.

As a member of Highbridge Voices, students are in the unique position to enjoy many opportunities that other children their age don’t. On June 5th, twenty-nine members of the Chamber Choir not only had one of those opportunities, but also one that would likely stay with them the rest of their lives. After hearing the choir in concert earlier this spring, Associate United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor invited the Chamber Choir to perform at the 37th Annual Dinner and Meeting of the Supreme Court Historical Society.

The Chamber Choir left the Bronx on Sunday afternoon and made their way to Old Town Alexandria where they enjoyed a tour of the area before settling in to their hotel rooms. The next morning, the choir was off to visit their friends at West Potomac High School where they not only listened to the school’s choirs, but performed before enjoying a pizza lunch.

When Monday evening came around, the students dressed in their formal attire for the bus ride to the U.S. Supreme Court building where they performed an entire program, including, “Il est bel est bon”, “ABC”, and “Children Will Listen” in the Great Hall of the court. After the performance, Justice Sotomayor, a Bronx native, turned an amazing experience into an extraordinary one. She escorted the choir into the court’s chambers where the Justice entertained questions about the Court, her job, and the workings of the Judiciary and all other branches of the United States government.

On Tuesday, the choir enjoyed a full day with visits to both the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Franklin Delano Roosevelt National Memorials and lunch at a Washington, D.C. landmark, Ben’s Chili Bowl. After lunch, it was back on the bus to head for home. Few people have an opportunity like the one Highbridge Voices enjoyed in June. This trip truly showed the youth of the Highbridge community that anything is possible.