Foreigner performs farewell tour with local students

Members of a local high school choir partied like rock stars Wednesday night, singing with a legendary band.

Foreigner performed their historic farewell tour at the Barbara B. Mann with students from Cypress Lake High School.

It was a proud moment for each member of the Cypress Lake High School Choir.

“I grew up listening to old rock bands, like all of that,” said Ashlyn Maloney, a senior at Cypress Lake. “My dad was in a band for long, and so like, I love Foreigner, always have, and so, Stroh [choir director] called me in the office, and he was like, ‘It looks like we’re signing with Foreigner, and I literally screamed and dropped to the floor. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m so excited,'” she said.

This is a moment that transcends time, something these kids and their families will remember forever: the time they sang alongside Foreigner.

“This is an art that’s like dwindling down, especially in this area,” said Orli Gottesman, a senior at Cypress Lake High School. “I don’t know. It’s such an inspiring thing, hopefully, for other schools around this area. Yeah, it’s truly like a blessing. This is going to be such a fun experience, and as nervous as I’ll be, I’m really excited to get out there.”

Inspiring students like Maloney and Gottesman is exactly why, for years, Foreigner has invited local choirs to perform with them wherever their tour takes them.

“As we all know, the first thing that goes when there’s budget cuts are the arts, and it’s been proved how invaluable the arts are for an overall education, so we want to do our part, help as much as we can,” said Jeff Pilson, musical director and bass player for Foreigner. “I myself am a product of public-school music education, so it means a lot to me.”

So, in front of a sold-out crowd, these kids sang their hearts out at a performance that left the crowd on their feet applauding.

The band said they also make a donation to each school’s music department that performs on stage with the band.

As for the farewell tour, this is the last time they’ll all spend nine months on the road together performing all across the country; however, they could still do performances here and there after this final tour is over.