Seventeen-year-old Daniel Moshi was doing the thing he loved most when he unexpectedly died onstage during a tragic incident at a suburban choir event, his family said.
"They told us that while he was doing his solo, he just passed out," said his mother Karolin Moshi. "He collapsed and we don't know anything else."
Moshi, of Franklin Park, was a senior at Leyden High School in District 212. He had plans to attend college next year and dreamed of ending up on Broadway someday.
Karolin Moshi said she had dropped her son off at school Friday, knowing he would be heading to the show choir event that evening. At the time, she said everything seemed normal.
"Actually, I stopped by Starbucks right over here, where he grabbed his macchiato drink and his sandwich. I dropped him off. And he was waiting for his teacher to come, you know, come up and pick him up with his other students that were attending this choir show," she said.
When he arrived at the suburban school for the event, he texted his mother.
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"He texted me, 'Mom, I'm here' at around five o'clock approximately," she said. "I texted him, 'I said everything good?' I have his text. He said, 'Yep, all good mom.'"
Less than two hours later, the family quickly learned everything was not "all good."
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"I got the call from his teacher, musical teacher. And she said there's an incident," his father Loden Moshi told NBC Chicago. "That he was singing his solo rehearsal and he collapsed. And now they've given him CPR and taken him to one hospital."
Moshi was performing at the All State Honors Show Choir for the Illinois American Choral Directors Association Friday at Naperville North High School when he became unconscious.
Naperville fire officials confirmed they responded to the high school around 6:18 p.m. for an "unconscious" 17-year-old boy. When fire officials arrived, bystanders were performing CPR on the teen, who was taken to Edwards Medical Center, where he died.
"IL-ACDA is saddened by the loss of this beautiful person who loved to sing," President of IL-ACDA Laura Coster wrote on Facebook following the tragic incident. "Our condolences to his family, the students, the directors, and to... students in the Leyden district."
The DuPage County coroner's office said it was investigating the death, but a cause of death has not been released.
"We came home Saturday morning, I received a call from the DuPage coroner's office and she said, 'Miss Moshi, I'm reaching out to you to let you know that there was nothing wrong with your son. His organs were all healthy, his heart - absolutely nothing wrong with him,'" Karolin Moshi said.
Leyden High School said it is grieving the loss of one of its own and offered support for students struggling with the news.
"This loss impacts our entire Leyden community," a spokesperson for the school told NBC Chicago in a statement Monday. "Our students and staff are grieving and our focus is on their well being. We encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out to a trusted adult and our Student Services department is available to provide support. We are also asking everyone to look after each other during this difficult time."
Moshi's family, who wore blue during their interview with NBC Chicago because it was his favorite color, said they are leaning into their faith to cope with the loss of their son and the lack of answers surrounding his death.
"It's hard. It's not easy," Karolin Moshi said. "You can see my eyes. I've been crying. I can't sleep. I haven't slept since Friday. But it's... I don't know how to explain it... we believe what we believe in. The Lord is keeping us going. It's not easy. We were supposed to buy him a car. We're actually doing his funeral. It's not easy. It's not easy for any parent to go through this because we still don't have answers."
The family remembered Moshi as "honest, so pure, lovable."
"He was amazing," his younger sister Danya Moshi said. "And I feel like people should know that more...If people have siblings, you need to have fun with them. Because if one of them goes away, you feel alone."
