Thirty WJ students and six alumni sang onstage with such celebrities as Garth Brooks, Beyoncé and the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, on the Jan. 18 “We are One” concert. The alumni sang with the adult choir, called the “Inaugural Celebration Singers,” and the current students participated in the student choir sporting red and blue sweatshirts.

Choral Music Director Isabel Hernandez-Cata received a call from the choral director for the concert, asking for her to supply students to put in the chorus. According to Hernandez-Cata, WJ has participated in the annual “Christmas in Washington” presentation for at least the past 10 years. The “Christmas in Washington” event is directed by the same individual that directed the pre-inaugural event on Jan. 18. Due to Hernandez-Cata’s connection with the concert director for the event at the Lincoln Memorial, WJ was the only non-performing arts school to be asked to send students to sing at the event.

For the students, it was an once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will never forget.

“It was worth the cold and freezing toes and faces,” said senior Ella Zhang. “The girls in front of me started crying after they hugged [President] Obama, and I was on the verge of crying.”

The concert was rather chaotic and confusing behind the scenes.

According to Hernandez-Cata, just two days before the show started, Springsteen requested that the choir sing “This Land is Your Land” with minimal rehearsal time. The choral directors taught only a few students the harmony to the song and instructed them to teach the rest of the student group. Despite such short notice, the choir was still able to perform the piece without any noticeable errors.

“Even the day of the show everything was kind of hectic, and no one was really sure where they were supposed to be, but you couldn’t tell,” said Hernandez-Cata.

Hernandez-Cata was also asked to supply adults for the concert, and she was able to contact several of her former students to ask them to participate.

Springsteen was so fond of the adult choir that backed him up that day, he asked them to back him up during the Super Bowl XLIII halftime show last Sunday. However, only two of the WJ alumni were able to schedule a trip to Tampa, Fla. for the game. WJ will be represented in the chorus at the Super Bowl by alumni Ania Soltan, class of ‘08, and Kina Wihl, class of ‘00.