Linn-Mar student to perform at Carnegie Hall

MARION — A Linn-Mar High School freshman has been invited to perform next year at New York's Carnegie Hall during its 125th anniversary season.

Lucas Rodriguez, 15, of Marion, sings bass. According to his family, he auditioned for the Honors Performance Series and was accepted after a review by the Honors Selection board.

During the performance, he will join performers from around the United States, four Canadian provinces and a number of other countries. Two performances will take place Feb. 7: an Honors choral performance and Honors instrumental performance. He has approached businesses to ask for help covering the cost of his trip and created a gofundme page. His goal is to raise $2,000.

Rodriguez said he has been performing for as long as he can remember. He began playing piano when he was four after he saw his sister playing. He also picked up guitar and saxophone, and used to play the cello.

'As the years went by, I started to gradually love singing more and more and more,' he said. 'Eventually I dropped piano when I was 10 or 11 and I took singing more seriously than anything.'

This year, he performed in Theatre Cedar Rapids' production of 'Rodgers and Hammerstein: Classics in Concert.'

Rodriguez is a member of Linn-Mar's In Step show choir and has performed with the Opus honor choir, Regional honor choir, and Ovation show choir.

Rodriguez's dad, Rudolph, said his son always has had a passion for music.

'If you ask him for an E-flat, he could give you an E-flat without even a piano,' Rudolph said.

Rodriguez plans to leave for New York the last week of January. For four days, he will get the opportunity to sightsee, and he said the performance will take place on the fifth and final day of the trip.

'I've been in Iowa since I was a kid,' he said. 'The only place I've gone besides Iowa was Texas. I think going to New York will really take me places.'

HOW YOU CAN HELP

To help contribute to Lucas Rodriguez's trip to Carnegie Hall, go to gofundme.com/b97ys2vm