LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KTSM) — Twenty-five students from the Zia Middle School Choir in Las Cruces shared the stage Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Pan American Center with the legendary 80s rock band Foreigner.  “That doesn’t happen for everybody. To be able to sing in front of a crowd like that, it gives them (students) a taste of what they’re capable of doing,” said Zia’s Choir Director Christopher Yee.  Wednesday’s concert was part of Foreigner’s "Farewell Tour" with special guest Loverboy. Foreigner and the students performed the band’s No. 1 hit "I Want to Know What Love Is." “It was breathtaking. That’s a memory that I’m never going to forget,” said EmmaJean Rodriguez, an alto and eighth-grader with the choir group. “This is big. It was really exciting and this was my first opportunity. I’ve never done something like this before." Rodriguez says she plans to letter in choir all throughout middle school and high school, following a passion that she says is prevalent in her family of singers.  “Whenever we were walking on (stage) I was so excited and nervous at the same time, so I tried focusing on the exciting part and had so much fun,” said Aurelia Urquidi, an eighth-grade soprano.  “I didn’t know Foreigner was popular until last week,” Urquidi said. “If I had a chance to do it again, I would definitely do it all over." “It was nerve-racking when we were about to go up on stage. But after we got on and sang, it just started to feel casual. And I got to get a close up with Kelly Hansen (Foreigner’s lead singer),” said Jaidyn Weddington, an eighth-grade alto.  Foreigner have made it a highlight of their concerts over the past few years to invite school choirs on stage to perform their iconic song. They have invited choirs in San Antonio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, and Wyoming to name a few.  Yee, the Zia Middle School choir director, said it was surreal watching his students perform on stage with Foreigner, a band he grew up listening to, but that it was the words of Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hansen after they performed the song that made the entire process even more special.  “The fact that they brought the choir up in front of the crowd and then spoke toward advocacy for music programs was huge. (Hansen) had mentioned that a lot of times, music and fine arts programs are the first to go, when budget cuts happen. And that's the reason that they're doing that. They're doing it to bring awareness to the community that music deserves to be in the schools,” Yee said.  “The thing maybe not all of you realize is that music and the arts take you around the world. They take you backwards and forwards in time. They take you to faraway galaxies. They expand your mind to go to places you never would have thought of,” said Hansen as he addressed the crowd at the show.  “So please contact your school board, local politicians, and teachers, make a donation, and please help keep these beautiful young people’s hopes and dreams alive,” Hansen added.  To perform with Foreigner, Zia’s choir had to earn the spot by winning a local radio contest by popular vote for their rendition of "I Want to Know What Love Is." Foreigner also donated $500 to their program.  Yee posted a recorded version of their rendition on YouTube, which you can find here.  Yee said that it was a fun, but rigorous nine-week process of preparation for his choir to fine-tune their rendition of the song that they ultimately performed on last week.  “As the contest came together, we had to start thinking about: ‘What are we going to wear for the video? When is the best time to shoot this video to ensure we include all 25 kids?’ It was another level up from what we’re used to,” Yee said.  “We worked a lot. We started working on this song in July. Every single day we practiced the same thing over and over. Holding our breaths, when to crescendo, and we would practice our parts one at a time,” Rodriguez said. “It was really hard but we did it." “The process of making music engages the human mind in a way that other things don't,” Yee said. “(Music) is something that I think promotes human growth and makes people more well-rounded individuals. We need music in our schools. We need music in our communities."