(Fox8) LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The latest video to go viral is a beautiful show of unity and patriotism.
YouTube clips have circulated the web this week showing some 600 high school students joining together in song at the Hyatt Regency in Louisville.
First a scuffle, then a hush, then one of the best renditions of The National Anthem you will ever hear.
And the amazing thing is the production was not rehearsed or directed.
John Stroube, the executive director of the Kentucky Music Educators Association, said the Anthem is sung each year by high school students selected to be part of the All State Choir.
They attend a conference in early February and many stay at the Hyatt Regency.
According to Stroube, there is a bit of downtime between formal choir rehearsals and curfew when the students mill around the hotel’s atrium and socialize.
It has become a tradition that at some point, The National Anthem is sung.
There is no specific time it begins. No one is designated to start it. Parts are not assigned. The whole thing is organic, which makes it all the more remarkable.
As people watched the videos, many speculated the act was done in celebration of the Olympic Games, which also began this week.
However, the timing was just a coincidence. Stroube said the tradition has been upheld for at least 26 consecutive years.
In fact, many of the videos being shared are from past conferences, although Stroube confirmed the students sang both Wednesday and Thursday of this week as well.