Arts school choir from Camden wins international competition

Monday, April 14, 2003 By LAVINIA DeCASTRO Courier-Post Staff CAMDEN

As music fills the hallways, nearly everyone who passes by stops, drawn to the irresistible melody.

By the end of Brazilian composer Hector Villa-Lobos' Estrela e Lua Nova, more than a dozen people have gathered around the students.

The music stops. The trance is broken. One by one, the onlookers return to their tasks.

That happens every time the Creative Arts High School choir performs.

Those who have heard the choir are not surprised to learn it defeated 39 other choirs from 11 countries to win first place at the Days of International Choir Music competition in Verona, Italy.

"It wasn't the most important thing for us to win," said 17-year-old Christina Vazquez, a 12th-grader. "It's more for the rest of the students here because now we set the precedent. Now they know they can do it."

Ten students, three teachers and two parents were in Verona from April 2 to 6.

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"We have been planning this for three years," said music teacher Suzzette Ortiz. "Last year we couldn't go because of Sept. 11."

The trip cost $1,500 per person. Corporate donations paid for part of it, but each student had to raise $600.

"They had to work hard for this," Ortiz said.

Money wasn't the only concern. Parents were worried for the safety of their children.

But the students say they bonded with other choirs from the United States and they found Europeans to be anti-war, not anti-American.

With songs from all over the globe - including Argentina, Venezuela and Italy - Creative Arts proved that even the smallest choir can have a diverse repertoire.

"I tried to make it as international as I could," Ortiz said. "We're trying to teach the students to be well rounded."

A group of German students was touched by the sheer determination of choir members, who won the competition despite war, a tight budget and two members with the flu.

"What they told me was, `You actually showed us to work harder, you inspired us,' " said 18-year-old Carlos Sime, a 12th-grader.

Before leaving Italy, the German choir sang "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King.

"I couldn't talk to them because I was overwhelmed by emotion," Sime said.

Reach Lavinia DeCastro at (856) 486-2652 or ldecastro@courier postonline.com