Just seconds into a virtual performance of the national anthem that opened the Democratic National Convention, Nebraska gets some love.
It comes from Theo Parker, a 12-year-old with a one-stanza solo in a performance that stitched together the voices of 57 young singers representing all 50 states, five territories, the District of Columbia and the Cheyenne Nation.
They wore red, white and blue T-shirts, and Nebraska’s Theo appears just after Indiana’s Naya, and then again, on the screen with Connecticut’s Chloe and Asha, representing Wisconsin, before a wide shot fills the screen with many other singers.
So who is Theo, the smiling soloist representing Nebraska?
Turns out, he’s a young man born in Lincoln who now lives in Pennsylvania and loves to sing.
He’s a member of the Keystone State Boychoir, one of five choirs that comprise the Commonwealth Youthchoirs, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia.
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The DNC reached out to the organization, which is nonpartisan but has held festivals in the past during the conventions — in 2016, for example, to empower young women when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee. Because of that, DNC organizers were familiar with the group, said Elizabeth Parker, Theo’s mom and one of the group’s artistic directors.
The group had 10 days to pull together singers and a performance, which was no easy task, Parker said. So they cast a wide net, drawing from their own 800 members and reaching out to choirs they were familiar with across the country.
Singers’ ties to a particular state could mean they live there, but could also be that they were born there, attended school there or even, in some cases, had extended family there.
When Theo said he wanted to try out, his mom suggested he could represent Nebraska.
Parker came to Lincoln in 2007 — along with her husband and their young daughter — to earn her doctorate degree in music education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her husband taught lighting at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film.
She was pregnant with Theo at the time.
“We moved to Nebraska when I was pregnant, so I really do think of Theo as a Cornhusker,†she said.
They moved into a home near Sheridan Elementary, where Theo’s older sister, Sara — who also performed in Choir Across America this week — went to school. As a toddler, Theo attended the Dimensions early childhood program at First-Plymouth Church.
He doesn’t remember much about his birthplace, though he can tell you Lincoln is the state capital and people here like corn (and we wear corn hats), but he does remember loving to sing even as a Nebraska baby.
The Parker family left Nebraska two years later, after Parker earned her doctorate, moving to Georgia, where she got a job in academia. Six years ago, they moved to the Philadelphia area, where Parker grew up, and she now works at Temple University.
Theo’s love of singing continued after he was out of diapers. He joined the Keystone Boychoir when he was 6.
Unbeknownst to his mom, he decided to throw his name in the hat as a soloist. The process of recording the national anthem (not to mention his audition for a solo) was time consuming.
He’d performed the national anthem before, but this was a different tempo, a new key — and had to be timed perfectly so producers could combine it with all the other performers.
He didn’t know if he’d be used as a soloist until he saw the final production, which made his efforts worthwhile.
“I feel like all the hard work paid off,†he said.
As a member of the Keystone Boyschoir, he’s performed in Lithuania and Poland, on a local public radio program and with Stephen Schwartz, the award-winning musical theater composer whose musicals include "Godspell" and "Wicked."
But the latest performance tops the list of favorites for the budding performer.
Parker, Theo’s mom, has fond memories of Nebraska — eating Valentino’s and Culver's, shopping at Leon’s and studying at the university, a place she’s returned to for research since she graduated.
She figured Theo representing the state was a way to show their Nebraska pride.
“Nebraska doesn’t get enough attention,†she said.
Theo, who hasn’t been back to Nebraska since he left as a toddler, was happy to oblige.
And from the bottom of our corn-loving hearts, Theo, we thank you.