Thursday, March 18, I sat in Emma Baumgardner Theater in awe of the students and faculty at Tracy High School.

Singers, musicians, actors, conductor, director, supporting staff, crew and everyone involved in bringing “Les Miserables” to the stage at Tracy High, I thank you all for the time, energy and heart you invested in this amazing production. I am fortunate to have been in your audience and blessed to have witnessed your talent.

Do you hear the people sing

Lost in the valley of the night?

It is the music of a people

Who are climbing to the light.

While California reels with economic and education crises, I watched these beautiful young people and their gifted teachers create a musical experience to treasure. As the finale began, the ensemble emerged from the shadows to sing the chorus, a chorus that resonated so deeply I could scarcely catch my breath.

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies.

Even the darkest night will end

And the sun will rise.

I realized, in that moment, that these young people are also engaged in a battle for their ideals, their dreams and their futures. This undertaking, the coordination of teachers, students, and schedules required for this event, defies the notion that the arts can or should be sacrificed in our schools. The song was a song of hope, a song sung by young people making huge sacrifices for a program they love and know will impact their lives forever.

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Somewhere beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?

With each voice, with each instrument, with each wave of the conductor’s hand, I was filled with hope for them and for their futures, for the future of education in California, and for the undeniable imperative for the arts to be part of that future.

Do you hear the people sing?

Say, do you hear the distant drums?

It is the future that they bring

When tomorrow comes.

We in Tracy are blessed with talented children and dedicated teachers.

We may not be the wealthiest community, but our heart and our belief in and dedication to our children has long defined us. We all must make it our priority to insist that our children continue to receive all they need so that they can share their gifts with the world. Each child in Tracy, in some subject or endeavor, has a voice with which to sing.

Tomorrow will come, bringing budget cuts and painful losses to our schools and students. As the final verses rang out in the theater, it was like an anthem to the performing arts programs in Tracy. I heard them singing, heard the drums and felt the future, close enough to touch.

Let us all be strong and stand with the performing arts students in Tracy. Attend the plays and concerts at our schools and support their programs. I am certain that you, too, will glimpse the world we long to see. It is a world in which our children, grandchildren, neighbors’ children and children we don’t even know work together, cooperate and change the world.

My world, my perspective, was changed Thursday. In the midst of so much sadness and negativity, in a world marked by frustration and apathy, I left E.B. Theater touched and encouraged by our children’s music, music I still feel wafting through the air like a promise.

Please join in their crusade. Let us all fight to keep the promise alive by supporting performing arts in our schools. Our students deserve the best. The young people of Tracy are amazing.

• Shelley Thompson-Layne is a Tracy resident.