SEVEN!

I was given a heads up about the group that was asked to sing the National Anthem on Thursday night. Friend Kathy went to Ferndale High School with Frank Hernandez, a member of the group SEVEN and she asked me to try and say hi to him. The odds of talking to one of the many performers at the convention is a serious long shot but I decided to give it my best try.

A couple of us arrived early to the Tampa Bay Times Forum and were surprised to hear SEVEN practicing for their performance. Their acapella voices blend in near perfect harmony and their rendition of the National Anthem is breathtaking. As they finished practicing I asked to speak to Frank Hernandez and he came right up and I had the opportunity to send greetings from Kathy and Washington. He was delighted to hear from home!

The Bellingham Herald picked up on the story of the home grown musician's contribution to the Republican National Convention and wrote an article about him:

"Ferndale-raised opera singer Frank Hernandez will set foot on one of the summer's largest stages this week when his vocal ensemble SEVEN performs both the opening and closing songs on the final day of the Republican National Convention."

It's a cool story! Read the rest here.

Frank Hernandez is on the far right. They changed into black tuxes for the actual performance.

SEVEN has not yet uploaded their National Anthem performance to YouTube but you will definately enjoy their standout single "What a Mighty Sound" which they sang before the convention convened on Thursday night.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/08/28/2665923/opera-singer-raised-in-ferndale.html#storylink=cpy