Alexandra Cordoba – Denver, Colorado … The Koinonia select choir at Campion Academy (CA) in Loveland, Colorado, kicked off the Denver Nuggets NBA game, performing the national anthem to an audience of nearly 20,000 in the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, February 5.
CA athletic director Caleb Jahn and CA music director Naomi Fernandez had looked into having Koinonia sing the anthem for the Nuggets game the night that Campion played in the Ball Arena, but scheduling prohibited that. Instead, the choir focused on preparing to sing for the Mile High vs. Campion Ball Arena games.
During that performance, Lindsey, a coordinator at Ball Arena, heard Koinonia’s rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and described it as one of her favorite versions. A few weeks later, a cancellation created an open slot and Lindsey reached out to Fernandez to see if they would sing for a real NBA game remembering the Koinonia’s performance.
Reflecting on the experience, Fernandez shared, “I think that it was exciting, and it was an honor. I thought the students handled themselves really well, going from a stadium of 300 to 20,000, and they performed at a really high level.”
CLICK HERE to watch the performance.
—Alexandra Cordoba, Campion Academy Student News Team. Photo capture from Campion Academy performance recording.
