Sasha and Malia Obama weren’t the only teenagers attending their first state dinner last week. On Thursday, Mar. 10, three seniors from Eleanor Roosevelt High School similarly got the opportunity to briefly attend Barack Obama’s state dinner held for the visiting Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Chaperoned by ERHS’s choir director, Ms. Michele Fowlin, chamber choir students Maria Costa, Megan Winner, and Rachel Blair performed for President Obama and his guests alongside Sara Bareilles.

The opportunity arose as a result of Ms. Fowlin’s active role in the world of musical performance. During her time working with the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, she met Michelle Obama’s Social Secretary, Deesha Dyer, explained Ms. Fowlin. One day she received a call from Dyer asking for a group to perform. “We’re looking for something different,” said Dyer, as recalled by Ms. Fowlin.

An outside choir that she directs called Children of the Gospel was Ms. Fowlin’s choice in performers, but she invited the three Roosevelt High students to join for the day. “They’re my seniors, my rising stars,” said Ms. Fowlin, on why she chose Winner, Blair, and Costa in particular.

They did’t get the chance to perform at Joe Biden’s house with many of their other classmates on Mar. 1, explained Blair. So when Mrs. Fowlin offered them the chance to perform at the White House, they accepted. However, when they agreed to perform “we didn’t know who we were singing with,” Blair added.

Luckily, the big reveal of having to sing back-up for Sara Bareilles didn’t seem to disappoint the trio. They all came to the consensus that Bareilles was “down to Earth.” She was “just friendly and gave great advice about performing,” said Costa.

Bareilles was scheduled to perform her hit song “Brave” while the Children of the Gospel accompanied her, but their debut with the singer-songwriter didn’t quite end there. We also “ended up singing Love Song spontaneously,” exclaimed Costa.

And while they didn’t get the chance to hang out at the star-studded dinner, they managed to catch a few celebrities during their VIP treatment, including Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, and Blake Lively.

Then, of course, all of the guests got the chance to be greeted by the First Family. According to Ms. Fowlin, this was one of her many encounters with the Obama’s, but it was equally as great meeting them this time as it was the first. “They make you feel at home,” she said.

For Costa and Winner it was simply “surreal.”

“I was just taking in the moment,” said Winner.

Check out their performance with Sara Bareilles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmPYiiW10e0