Paul Lomax, director of the Schoharie Central School choirs, will realize a lifelong dream on Monday when he sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
"My parents would be thrilled," he said.
Mr. Lomax has admired the Choir since childhood, having grown up in a family with a strong choral tradition; he began singing at his Dutch Reformed Church when he was just five.
"I've been working with choirs longer than I've done anything else except walking and walking," Mr. Lomax said.
"I just grew up knowing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is the best in the world," and he imagined himself singing with them someday.
When reviewing the guidelines for the all-volunteer choir, Mr. Lomax was disappointed when he realized that while he could pass most of the rigorous musical requirements, he was outside the eligible age.
Then he learned the choir was coming to Saratoga on tour and inviting local community members to attend the pre-show sound check.
When organizers heard of his desire to sing, Mr. Lomax was invited to join the tenor section to perform the pre-show numbers.
"I am humbled and appreciative to be able to receive a few minutes of an experience that I thought had passed forever," he said.
Additionally, two members of the Schoharie High School Choir will join their director and sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Capri VanDerwerken and Sarah Wright, both rising 11th graders, will be in the soprano section.
Also performing with the Choir during the sound-check rehearsal will be select members from the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Queensbury school districts and the Princeton Girlchoir from Princeton, New Jersey.
The choir will perform at SPAC on June 29.