Students from the Crane School of Music are getting the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center in New York City. As our Cara Thomas tells us, members of the Crane Chorus and Orchestra are eager to take their place on Lincoln Center's stage

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POTSDAM, N.Y. -- It's an opportunity that doesn't come around very often: College students performing in world renowned venues.

Crane orchestra member Andrew Fond said, "Playing in the same place where the New York Philharmonic plays is a crazy experience that I am, we are so fortunate to get."

The Crane Chorus and Orchestra will be traveling to New York City to perform in Lincoln Center. But not just any piece of music, an hour and a half long composition called "Messa Da Requiem."

Dan Mertzlufft, a Crane chorus member, said, "At first I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, this hour and half piece is going to be so hard to learn, I don't know who any of these people are,' but then I did research and realized these are really big names we're going to be working with."

Four professional vocal soloists, as well as guest conductor Anne Howard Jones, are working alongside the students, helping them prepare and even giving them a little advice.

"Both of them said that music shouldn't be hard. We aren't digging a ditch, we're making music," said Mertzlufft.

None of this would have possible without the money to get them there. And it was one man's own experiences at Crane that inspired him to be one of the patrons involved. Having the opportunity himself to perform in a famous venue and working alongside professional musicians, he says it was something he will never forget.

Gary Jaquay, a SUNY Potsdam alumni, said, "In some ways, it's just opening worlds for people and it's giving back to the college some of the wonderful things we were given."

Jaquay says the patrons all hope to bring in a professional conductor to work with the students every year and allow the students to travel to a new venue every few years. But right now, the students aren't looking that far ahead. They're just excited for the next few days.

Mertzlufft says, "The anticipation is building especially this week as all of these big names start coming back to Crane."

The group will be performing in Potsdam this Saturday in Crane’s Hosmer Hall and then will travel to New York City to perform in Lincoln Center on Tuesday night.