PS 22 Chorus Rocks Out With Journey Singer Steve Augeri
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The famous Staten Island PS 22 fifth grade chorus got another boost Wednesday from former Journey front man Steve Augeri, who helped the kids practice the hit song “Don’t Stop Believin’.” NY1’s Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.“Don’t Stop Believin’” has become something of a theme song for PS 22's fifth grade chorus, and on Wednesday, the 10-year-olds were joined by one of the men who made that song so famous: former Journey front man Steve Augeri.
“I was like, oh my gosh, famous rock star, 10-year-old kid: Me, 10-year-old kid is me! Holy smokes, i'm singing with the guy who used to sing with Journey,” said Kevin Tappan, a solo performer in the chorus.
Augeri rehearsed with the chorus for hours as they prepared for an upcoming performance they're going to do with him at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center's annual Italian Harvest Festival this weekend.
It was Augeri's idea to get them involved.
“I know of these children that are just absolutely stunning and I was wondering if I could get them aboard, because I've heard them sing the Journey song. So, we invited them, and luckily they were available,” said Augeri.
The PS 22 chorus has gained fame and popularity largely because their teacher, Gregg Breinberg, who’s known to students as Mr. B, has posted many of their performances on YouTube.
Last year's fifth grade chorus members performed at the Oscars and on Oprah.
Sixty-five new students are part of this year's group, and they've only been performing together since the start of the school year.
“They put a new face to chorus, what chorus means,” said Breinberg. “These kids put something new and something, again, they freed up chorus in making it something that is actually fun to watch as well as to listen to.”
The kids say they can't wait to perform and add that they don't plan on being nervous for the big day.
“If we can perform in front of one big rock star, then we can perform in front of a whole bunch of people, a bunch of regular people, and it's not going to be any problem,” said student Kaitlynn Franks.
This weekend's show is the first of what the fifth graders say they hope is many chances to sing publicly this year, and they're optimistic about it, saying they won't stop believin'.