Spouse’s choir takes the stage on ‘America’s Got Talent’

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Meredith Hein
  • 24th Air Force Public Affairs

Thirty-seven military spouses from across the country are set to perform live on NBC’s hit reality show “America’s Got Talent” at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 in New York City.

 

The American Military Spouse’s Choir auditioned in Chicago for the show’s judges and had a strong enough performance to be put through to the live competition following the Las Vegas round. The choir will perform in the quarterfinals, the first round viewers can vote for their favorite acts.

 

America’s Got Talent, currently in its eighth season, is a talent show with nearly 10 million weekly viewers. The show features performers of all ages who compete for the grand prize of $1 million.

 

The choir consists of 50 military spouses from around the world and across all branches of service. The ladies range in age from 20 to 56.

 

“This has been a really great opportunity for military spouses to tell our story,” said Allyson Harasimowicz, the wife of Col. Michael Harasimowicz, the commander of the 688th Information Operations Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. “The ladies here are from across the country, but we are able to come together. We’ve all had to be away from our families, spouses and jobs, but we’re able to help each other through it.”

 

Stacey Shade-Ware, the wife of Master Sgt. Russell Ware, a combat trainer assigned to the 802nd Security Forces Squadron at Lackland, shared a similar perspective. “It’s nice to have a group of people who experience the same unique issues — moving, trying to get housing at a new base, changing jobs. The choir was even able to help me through my husband’s last deployment so I didn’t feel like I was in it alone.”

 

Victor Hurtado, the choir’s artistic director, brought the group together in May 2012 for the annual Kennedy Center Spring Gala, which also featured Grammy Award winners David Foster and Chaka Khan and Grammy-nominated musicians Chris Botti and Jewel.

 

“It was great to get the call to put the choir together,” said Hurtado, an Army veteran who has previously worked with the U.S. Army Soldier Show. “I’ve been working with service members for a long time, but it wasn’t until I started working with the spouse’s choir that I saw who the force behind the force truly is.”

 

Hurtado had limited time to prepare for the Kennedy Center’s gala and conducted hundreds of auditions in less than two weeks to cast the choir.

 

“We cast 50 ladies who had never met,” Hurtado said. “The night before the show, the choir got together to rehearse for the first time with David Foster, and all I heard from him was that they were ‘incredible.’ Come show time, I couldn’t believe how talented they were and how well they adjusted.”

 

“This is what is so exciting,” said Dawn McClure, whose husband, Col. Gregory McClure, is the director of housing for the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at Lackland. “We have 37 different women, personalities and voices, and we came together as one voice.”

 

The worldwide distribution of choir members does present other challenges. “We aren’t able to practice together a lot,” Harasimowicz said. “We usually email each other and practice on our own. When we do get together, it’s usually near Washington, D.C. and some of the ladies have to Skype in.”

 

The choir is funded by the Center for American Military Music Opportunities, a nonprofit organization committed to “further development and execution of music therapy programs that focus on service-related conditions,” according to CAMMO’s website. The organization’s role, through the choir, is to improve the overall health of wounded service members through music.

 

“The women in this choir are making a real impact, because their performances help raise funds for music therapy programs for wounded service members,” Hurtado said. “They are actually helping their spouses’ brothers and sisters in arms.”

 

“We want to entertain, to be creative and to give military spouses a voice,” McClure said. “This is exciting for all of us. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it has been wonderful to share it with such a talented group of women.”