A Kansas City high school choir gets its shot at a 'once-in-a-lifetime' concert in Carnegie Hall

Paseo Academy's choir director, Willie Thornton, says it's going to be a life-changing experience for his students, some of whom have never set foot outside of Kansas City.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? “Practice, practice, practice,” goes the old joke.

That joke is now a reality for some 20 students at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts in Kansas City. That's because they'll be performing at the legendary concert hall in New York City this coming weekend.

Eameshia Dedner, a junior at the high school, said she remembers the moment when choir director Willie Thornton first broke the news to members of the choir.

“I didn't believe him at first. I’m like, okay, I know we're good, but I don't think we're that good,” Dedner said. “It still honestly hasn't hit me that we’re going.”