The large crowd went quiet as the Strath Haven Silvertones patiently stood near the third base dugout of Citizens Bank Park, preparing to deliver The Star-Spangled Banner on Sunday, May 5th.
On Sunday afternoon at 4:45 PM, the Silvertones boarded a school bus, arrived at Citizens Bank Park, and were ushered underneath the stadium seating to the field tunnel entrance. Silence fell over the stadium as the Silvertones assembled. Soon, the first note of the national anthem rang out, carried by the best of Strath Haven’s voices.
“It was so cool to sing in one of the biggest audiences anyone can ever achieve,” senior Silvertone member Julia McLean said. “It’s just so awesome to be on the field and looking up and seeing levels upon levels of people.”
The national anthem is one of the few rudimentary pieces that the Silvertones learn.
“We learned the national anthem on the first day of school,” McLean said. “We just brought it back out and whipped it into shape.”
The short 52-second performance was broadcasted onto the PhanaVision, the large video screen in the stadium.
“I thought it was super fun that we were able to have that experience to be on the jumbotron,” sophomore Silvertone member Lily Newport said. “It was just really fun to have everybody watch us show our talent.”
Family members of Silvertones members were also invited to watch the performance and game.
“A lot of my family came, and they were cheering us on,” Newport said.
For many, it was the first time performing the national anthem at a Phillies game.
“I’m so grateful for the experience, it was really exciting and fun,” freshman Silvertone member Kayla Taylor said. “I was just so happy to be around my friends and to be able to sing in such an amazing place.”
After the performance, members were allowed to watch the game against the San Francisco Giants, in which the Phillies took the victory with a score of 5-4.
“We watched the game, we got food and we had lots of fun,” McLean said.
Silvertones members grabbed a bite at the ballgame and spent the remaining time with friends and family. “We also got bucket hats because of Mothers Appreciation Day which was fun,” McLean said.
