Alexandria City High School’s Director of Choral Activities Theodore Thorpe III has had days of excited praise for his performance with Coldplay on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.
He performed as a part of the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers, with Coldplay and Jacob Collier during songs “The Astronaut” and "Human Heart/Fix You" on the Feb. 4 show.
As soon as he walked into school on Monday, he said he felt the love. He received flowers and his students were really excited to see the performance.
“It’s just been a great, great past five days and we're still on a high from that experience,” Thorpe said.
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Prior to Saturday, Thorpe said he had to keep the performance quiet and only had a few days to rehearse. The group practiced together Thursday evening, rehearsed with Coldplay and Jacob Collier Friday and adjusted to last minute changes for the live show on Saturday.
"They were so, so gracious, so down to earth and I think I think we formed a kinship and friendship over those two days," Thorpe said.
During "The Astronaut," Coldplay performed in front of a colorful space-inspired screen and danced with a performer wearing an alien mask. At the end of the song, the chorus was brought up front to sing joyfully with frontman Chris Martin.
In the "Human Heart/Fix You" the choir sang a cappella with Martin, creating a touching moment before the band rejoined and the song turned into "Fix You."
On social media, Thorpe’s performance received shoutouts from Alexandria City High School and Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson.
“Check out our own Choir Director Mr. Thorpe performing with Coldplay on SNL! So Proud! Making us proud as usual!” @ALexCityTitans said.
“Yes, that was Coldplay backing up @AlexCityTitans @ACTitansChoir Director @thorpethethird on SNL last night! Congrats!” @justindotnet tweeted.
This rendition of “The Astronaut” was one of the first times the song, co-written by Jin from Korean pop group BTS, had been performed in English.
The chorus also wore black shirts with an astronaut that commemorated BTS member Jin, who recently went into the military, Thorpe said.
Thorpe is a long-time musician who is in his 12th season as the high school’s choral director, according to his website.
The full performance can be viewed here.
