As most of you probably know, whether you went or witnessed any of your classmates preparing, the Concert Band and Chamber Choir went on a trip to Virginia Beach on April 16. Aside from the seven-ish hours that were spent driving there and back, the band and choir went to some interesting places in Virginia.
For one, on Friday the 17th, the band and choir performed at separate schools in front of judges and their respective peers. The choir performance was held at a university that was very castle-like, with a gold interior and the largest theater the Chamber Choir has performed in this year.
The choir stood on the platforms and sang their renditions of Adoramus Te, a song sung entirely in Latin, I Want it That Way, by the Backstreet Boys, and The Longest Time, by Billy Joel. Cayden Jay, a member of the Chamber Choir, sang the tenor solo.
After the judges had finished reviewing, the Chamber Choir received feedback and a masterclass from a professional post-performance. The entire band and Mr. Gross stopped to take a picture on the gold stairs.
After leaving the university, the Freehold Boro musicians went to a high school about half an hour away. This was a bit of a switch from the huge building the musicians had previously been in, and it was interesting to see the students still in their classes. The school had many paintings and murals surrounding the theme of music. After rehearsing for a bit, the band was ready to make its way to the performance stage.
The band played Blue and Green Music, a piece created to center around a beautiful painting by Georgia O’Keeffe. After this piece, they played a medley of Star Trek. In addition, they played Amparito Roca, a Spanish march that is very upbeat and fun to play.
After that, the band and choir attended the Virginia International Tattoo Festival. A tattoo festival is the gathering of different music and dance groups that perform for a live audience. They watched as a multitude of military marching bands performed their shows live. Sitting high, it was reminiscent of Medieval Times. There were many different shows, one Korean band performing Golden, one Irish rendition filled with jigs and kilt-wearing bagpipe-blowers. Watching the tattoo perform was like an exhilarating dream.
On Saturday, the band and choir spent their last day at Busch Gardens, an amusement park in Virginia that, as described to me, “is like Six Flags, but better.” There are many different places to go in Busch Gardens. As a matter of fact, one can explore completely different countries every hundred feet. You could step out of Scotland into Ireland and then walk a little way to France to ride The Griffon. It was surreal. The awards ceremony was held in a little theater in France. Despite not actually competing, the band and choir still got an “Excellent” rating. Cayden Jay got a personal award for his outstanding performance of The Longest Time.
The band and choir left Sunday morning, and it didn’t need to be said that everyone felt a bit sad as they boarded the bus. Nonetheless, it was an exciting trip, and gave the musicians the ability to represent our school and perform the music they worked so hard to perfect these past few months.
Thank you to Mr. Gross and all the parents and teachers involved in allowing the band and choir students to experience such a wonderful trip!
