Strobing lights shine around every one of them. Crowds cheer louder than they’ve ever imagined. In front of them, a country legend they’ve only seen in photographs and in the foyer of the school. After the light strum of a guitar, they begin to sing with someone many could only dream about.
On Saturday, the high school chorale performed with LHS alumni and country music superstar Miranda Lambert at the American Airlines Center. Lambert brought the chorale on stage to sing her 2016 Grammy nominated single “Tin Man.”
“I wanted to celebrate singers and vocalists of all kinds,” Lambert said. “On this year twenty years ago I remember starting a petition and got over 200 people to sign it for the creation of a choir.”
Lambert introduced the chorale on stage to sing with her after a heartfelt story about her past experiences with choir at Lindale. After being brought on stage, the chorale sang her song “Tin Man” and took pictures with her backstage after the end of her concert.
“It certainly shines a light upon our high school choir program,” superintendent Stan Surratt said. “Our choir continues to grow and we’ve had a lot more people qualify for TMEA All-Region and All-State in the past few years than ever before.”
Lambert originally pitched the idea to her production company who got in contact with Surratt earlier this year. Lambert is an alumni of Lindale and was a member of the choir.
“It was really Miranda’s idea,” Surratt said. “Her mother called me and said ‘Miranda’s had this idea’ and I just thought I could possibly make that happen for our students.”
Lambert was born in Longview, Texas but raised for most of her life inside Lindale. While still in high school, Lambert began her professional singing debut in venues across East Texas.
“She really shows that you can be successful whether or not you are from a big or small school,” junior chorale member Jade Ross said. “The fact that so many people in my class already knew her music was really inspiring.”
Lindale’s choir has had a long history of success that continues to grow each year. For instance, earlier this year Sophomore Halle Lambert qualified for the TMEA All-State Choir and performed at the UIL Solo and Ensemble contest earlier this week.
“We’ve had a number of outstanding students that have come through here and been very successful in the choir,” Surratt said. “Choir is very important to our community that has a very diverse music background.”
