It is not often that a high school choir gets the opportunity to perform to a stadium-sized crowd.

But on March 12 Heritage Woods secondary's choir members will do just that when the group joins a handful of other schools to sing at the Paralympic Games' opening ceremonies at B.C. Place Stadium.

More than a 1,000 singers from schools across the region will participate and have been busily preparing their portion of the programme.

The Heritage Woods secondary choir, which consists of 32 Grade-12 students, has been invited to perform at the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in March.

"We are really excited to be a part of something so unique," said Kathy Fester, the music director at Heritage Woods secondary. "It is the first time doing something on this scale for a lot of the kids."

Olympic committee members have been keeping close tabs on the school's rehearsals, making sure pitch and tempo are consistent with the work the other schools are doing. There will be one rehearsal with all of the schools before the March 12 event.

Fester said she can not reveal which song will be performed at the ceremonies but added that several are being rehearsed. The Games committee will notify the school in the weeks prior to the performance to let them know which song will be sung.

But the ceremonies will not be Heritage Woods' only opportunity to showcase its musical talent under the Olympic banner.

The school's concert band will be performing under a tent in Anmore Village when the torch rolls through next month. The music will start at around 6 a.m. on February 11.

"It is really cool because there are so many kids involved," Fester said. "It is a once in a lifetime opportunity."(The End)