Being involved with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus can sometimes have its perks – including getting asked to sing the National Anthem as a quartet before one of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament games. 

I met with 3 of my fellow Chorus members early on the morning of March 9 at the Sprint Center. We were escorted down to the floor for sound check and figuring out where we would be standing. We then spent the next hour in the actual Green Room – the one used by performers when they’re at the Center for big concerts. After hanging out a while, waiting for the Iowa State and Oklahoma State fans to fill in the arena, we were summoned to mid-court along with a Color Guard from the KC Police Department. We performed a wonderful 4-part harmony rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, followed by a rousing applause upon its completion. 

We’re working to get a copy of the Jumbotron footage and audio; so, hopefully I will be able to post that here soon. In the meantime, here’s a picture of us at mid-court before the teams and crowds arrived. 

Once we were done singing, we were able to go sit in the front row right behind the OSU band. This was our view as the game started – with the players on the other end of the court. 

After the first game (which Iowa State won), we sang God Bless America for the crowd before the Kansas-TCU game. I didn’t get to stick around for that game because I had to go to work, but it would’ve been a fun game to watch.