Corona del Mar Today: Singers to join Foreigner at Taste of Newport

Children of the 1980s will get to hear children of the 2010s perform "I Want to Know What Love Is" along with Foreigner when they take the stage at this year's Taste of Newport on Sept. 18, Corona del Mar High School officials announced.

"It's funny," said Val Jamora, the school's music director. "I was talking with the publicity manger, and they asked if I knew the song and I said 'Are you kidding me? I had my heart broken to that song at my junior high dance.'"

Foreigner will perform at 9 p.m., with 25 members of the Corona del Mar High School Madrigal Singers joining in "I Want To Know What Love Is," the band's No. 1 hit from 1985.

Foreigner also will make an unspecified donation to the CdM High School music program as part of an ongoing fundraiser that benefits the VH1 "Save The Music" Foundation.

In Foreigner's original video to the power-ballad song, several random, downtrodden working-class people answer an ad to sing in a background choir with the band, with everyone happy in the end. Foreigner always picks a local choir to perform this song with them. Jamora had to pick 25 singers, leaving a dozen behind.

"So much of what school programs do is our own scholastic concerts," he said. "But it's a totally different thing when they get to meet stage managers and sound engineers and see what happens behind the scenes and how a professional music show is put together. I love these things because they're really big eye-openers for the kids."

This year's Taste of Newport also will include performances by the Gin Blossoms and Pat Benatar; read our earlier story here, or click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

Staff Writer Joanna Clay contributed to this report.

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Harbor View, CdM High buck district enrollment trend

Student enrollment is down this school year throughout most of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District — but not at Corona del Mar High School or at Harbor View Elementary School, according to district and school officials.

Harbor View had about 30 or 40 more kindergartners enter the school last week, with a total student body of 460 students, up about 30 from last year.

And at Corona del Mar Middle and High schools, there are more than 400 students in five of the six classes, said Karen Yelsey, president of the board of education.

Yelsey attended the CdM High's first PTA meeting of the year, which drew more than 100 parents to the school's small gym on Wednesday morning.