Camden High School Choir Prepares To Leave For Poland, The Last Overseas Performance Under Current Director
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- More than a dozen students from an arts school in Camden are making final preparations to compete in a singing competition in Poland.
Thirteen students from Camden Creative Arts High School spent months preparing. They sold donuts and held fundraisers to raise the thousands needed, and tomorrow it's paying off. They'll board a plan to Krakow.
"It showed the students in Camden that they can dream big in life," says Suzette Ortiz.
She's been the heart and soul of the Creative Arts Choir, taking scores of Camden kids abroad during the past 15 years.
They not only see the world, but they win, raising their standards in life. But after 27 years in the district this is her last. Ortiz is retiring from the Camden School district in a few weeks.
"Sometimes I get emotional because teaching is my life," she says.
But this musician and composer is going out with a bang, giving one last overseas concert in Poland.
Zaire Daniels, 18, is one of the kids who will travel with Ortiz. The Creative Arts senior has multiple strikes against him. He's spent time homeless during high school and became a dad at 15. But thanks to the school choir, he's excelling and has hope his dreams will come true.
"Music has helped me stay focused, I'm going to Europe for my voice, I got scholarships for my voice," he says proudly, noting he's headed to Community College in the fall and on to Rowan University.
He maintains a 2.8 GPA -- all while holding down a full-time job and raising his nearly 3-year-old daughter.
"I wasn't the average kid," he says, "responsibility was nothing new to me."
Tomorrow he'll head to Poland and perform under Ortiz's direction.
"They're singing songs in Latin, in Spanish, English and Zulu," Ortiz says, smiling.
Now that's going out with a bang. And while Ortiz won't be teaching at the school district anymore, the composer and classically trained pianist will continue to express her art form.
"The district is changing, I am changing, I believe that it's time for me to move forward," she says.
