photo credit: Lydia Wendorf
The most magical place on earth was the most recent destination for the high school’s performing arts program, as the orchestra traveled to Orlando, FL, where it visited Universal Studios for a weekend of activities.
Every year, the performing arts program takes trips to various places around the world, alternating between large trips, such as the band’s Ireland trip, and shorter trips. Every year, the trip switches between the band and orchestra as to which group takes the trip, and this year was the orchestra’s turn for a large trip to Disney.
“During our trip to Orlando, orchestra students had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with a professional musician and teacher from the Orlando area. They also visited three Disney parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom) and two parks at Universal Studios,” Orchestra Director and trip leader Lori Cornett said.
The group flew to Orlando on Friday, Feb 13, taking off ata and then took a charter bus with a tour guide to get around in the city and between the locations they visited.
“The transportation was good, although the time for the flights was a bit exhausting. But we had a charter bus and a tour guide, and it was really cool and a good way to get around. Overall, it was good, but the timing could have been a bit better,” Chamber orchestra bassist and sophomore Daniel Whitehead said.
The educational side of the trip, the music workshop, had the group perform in a music studio and learn a piece of Disney music to play and record in a professional setting, while getting feedback from professionals on how to elevate their musical performances.
“This was my second time participating in the workshop, and while it was different from what we experienced in 2016, it was very well done and valuable for the students,” Cornett said.
The workshop was focused heavily on future-readiness, with common themes about the life of a professional musician and the necessity of being able to put in short amounts of practice time to perform a piece at a high-quality level.
“All of the chamber kids were a bit bored with the music because it was for all high schoolers, not just the highest orchestra, but then we got to do what a professional recording looks like, and all of us really enjoyed that,” Whitehead said.
On the fun aspect of the trip, the group had the chance to experience the parks in small groups and were able to go wherever they pleased in the parks.
“I feel that any time a group spends a lot of time together, it helps them bond as a group. While many people just hung out with their regular friend group, I saw many other groups merging and people finding new friendships with students from other grades or ensembles,” Cornett said.
This time spent in small groups greatly helped to create bonds between the students who they hadn’t had in the past, creating deeper friendships that both helped them throughout their high school experience as a whole, and also their ability to create music as a group that is interconnected in so many ways.
“I’d say I definitely bonded more with the other students. The biggest thing was the walking groups that we were in at our park. We’d all sit there in line together, and those who you were with you got to know a lot better and could have a lot of fun with,” Whitehead said.
Overall, the trip was a massive success, with students’ musical abilities greatly improved and great memories made that will last for everyone who went for countless years to come.
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