Christmas carols in D.C.: Burlington High School choir to sing at National Christmas Tree Lighting

BURLINGTON (WITI) -- Some high school students in Burlington are eager to hit the road and head to Washington, D.C. That's because they'll be performing at the National Christmas Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 4th -- with the Burlington High School A Cappella choir.

On Tuesday, December 2nd, the choir rehearsed for its pending performance at President's Park, just south of the White House.

"I didn't in my wildest dreams think we'd get accepted to do it," said Penny Yanke, choral conductor.

Yanke submitted the following YouTube video to be considered for the performance.

Three days later, Yanke got a letter from the people who organize the annual event in our nation's capital.

"Miss Yanke starts reading the letter, and says, 'Congratulations! You've been selected to sing at the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.' And, it was such a shock!" said Brandon Lindemann, a member of the Burlington A Cappella choir.

The cost of the trip was a bit of a shock to the choir members too. It was $330 per student.

"I was like, 'I just I won't go then, I guess.' I mean, I don't have that much money and I know that nobody else has that much money to just throw out," said Samantha Robers, a member of the Burlington A Cappella choir.

And this is where the generous people of southeast Wisconsin come in.

"They started a 'Go Fund Me' page, to help raise some money. And then we also contacted some of the big businesses and the Rotary Club in town -- and different groups that are always very generous to our groups, and supporting us, and they came through for us," said Yanke.

Now the trip comes at no cost to the choir -- and they'll become what they believe is the first Wisconsin group to take part in the performance in more than 50 years.

"It was overwhelming -- the generosity that we got to our group. And it was just fantastic! We couldn't be happier right now," said Alexandria Knight, a member of the Burlington A Cappella choir. "We're all just working together to put the best product that we can out there in D.C."

If you're interested in catching up with the Burlington A Cappella choir, your opportunity comes on Friday and Saturday when they return -- and perform at various venues throughout the City of Burlington.