Post by title1parent on Oct 10, 2009 8:10:21 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/schools/1814573,6_5_NA09_TATARCOL_S1-091009.article
Waubonsie musicians explore the Big Apple
October 9, 2009
Indian Prairie School District 204's music program gives students the chance to travel twice during their high school years.
Usually one domestic and one international trip is offered during each four-year period for each group of band, orchestra and chorus. Students who are able to take advantage of this wind up with an unforgettable experience with their friends and teachers.
Chaperones are required for the trips to happen, and they, too, are rewarded with a memorable experience.
Sixty-five teenagers, 14 adults, two buses, hundreds of miles, five days of spring break last year in New York City, thousands of photos -- it all added up to a wonderful trip.
This was my second trip chaperoning Waubonsie Valley orchestra students and the teens again showed themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for our school.
Many of us had not visited New York City before. We were enthralled Monday morning by the sight of the Statue of Liberty as we neared it while freezing on top of the ferry, and then were surprised to be given the chance to walk around the island and get even closer. Next we visited Ellis Island, then took the ferry back to Manhattan and walked to Wall Street.
At St. Paul's Chapel we walked somberly past the Sept. 11 memorials and historical markers such as George Washington's pew. The next block over is Ground Zero, enclosed now so we couldn't even get a glimpse at the big hole in the ground.
Dinner in Little Italy was followed by some interesting shopping in that area and in neighboring Chinatown. Rehearsal that first evening in the hotel was marred when one student set his violin on the floor and it was accidentally stepped on and broken into two pieces by another student.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of Carnegie Hall, an absolutely gorgeous building with an interesting history, followed by lunch in the Trump Tower. The students played a beautiful concert in the Madison Avenue Sculpture Garden (formerly the IBM atrium). This was an unusual setting in a large enclosed area with birds flying around and people walking through the building. The student orchestra played "Tocatta" by Frescobaldi, "Concerto Grosso" by Corelli, "The Godfather," "Hoedown" by Copland, "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3" and "Sentimental Sariband." They were directed by Mark Liu, Will Burck and Deborah Schmaltz.
Next we visited the United Nations, where we had guided tours and observed the U.N. in session. We rode the buses over to Broadway, where we were given a mere 45 minutes to explore Broadway from 42nd to 48th.
After dinner at Planet Hollywood we walked to The Palace Theatre in the next block to see "West Side Story." Some of the students on this trip performed in the pit orchestra for Waubonsie Valley's performance of "West Side Story" last May.
On Wednesday we went on a multi-ethnic eating tour in which we walked all morning and tried a variety of foods while learning about the areas we visited and related history. After lunch in Little Italy and Chinatown the students had a clinic with a musician while we chaperones had two free hours to roam the area. During this time a few of us saw the Flatiron Building and we ran into Chris March from "Project Runway." We managed to see many remarkable sights during our free time.
Later I read that on a clear day one can see great distances and many states from atop the Empire State Building. This was not our experience. We were there on a very cloudy, windy and rainy evening. It was so cloudy that we could only see about a block away. It was so windy that people's umbrellas turned inside out and their hair blew straight out. We did not have to wait in any line to go up top because no one in their right mind would pay to go up in that kind of weather.
Thursday morning we packed up and headed into the city for the last time. We had a short time to tour the American Museum of Natural History.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. We took a walk into Central Park where we saw Strawberry Fields after walking past the building where John Lennon had lived. We toured the Lincoln Center buildings, which house the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic. After dinner we returned to spend an evening enjoying a performance of the New York Philharmonic.
We arrived home that Friday afternoon exhausted and full of incredible memories.
Sherry Tatar can be reached at sherrytatar@ameritech.net.
Waubonsie musicians explore the Big Apple
October 9, 2009
Indian Prairie School District 204's music program gives students the chance to travel twice during their high school years.
Usually one domestic and one international trip is offered during each four-year period for each group of band, orchestra and chorus. Students who are able to take advantage of this wind up with an unforgettable experience with their friends and teachers.
Chaperones are required for the trips to happen, and they, too, are rewarded with a memorable experience.
Sixty-five teenagers, 14 adults, two buses, hundreds of miles, five days of spring break last year in New York City, thousands of photos -- it all added up to a wonderful trip.
This was my second trip chaperoning Waubonsie Valley orchestra students and the teens again showed themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for our school.
Many of us had not visited New York City before. We were enthralled Monday morning by the sight of the Statue of Liberty as we neared it while freezing on top of the ferry, and then were surprised to be given the chance to walk around the island and get even closer. Next we visited Ellis Island, then took the ferry back to Manhattan and walked to Wall Street.
At St. Paul's Chapel we walked somberly past the Sept. 11 memorials and historical markers such as George Washington's pew. The next block over is Ground Zero, enclosed now so we couldn't even get a glimpse at the big hole in the ground.
Dinner in Little Italy was followed by some interesting shopping in that area and in neighboring Chinatown. Rehearsal that first evening in the hotel was marred when one student set his violin on the floor and it was accidentally stepped on and broken into two pieces by another student.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of Carnegie Hall, an absolutely gorgeous building with an interesting history, followed by lunch in the Trump Tower. The students played a beautiful concert in the Madison Avenue Sculpture Garden (formerly the IBM atrium). This was an unusual setting in a large enclosed area with birds flying around and people walking through the building. The student orchestra played "Tocatta" by Frescobaldi, "Concerto Grosso" by Corelli, "The Godfather," "Hoedown" by Copland, "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3" and "Sentimental Sariband." They were directed by Mark Liu, Will Burck and Deborah Schmaltz.
Next we visited the United Nations, where we had guided tours and observed the U.N. in session. We rode the buses over to Broadway, where we were given a mere 45 minutes to explore Broadway from 42nd to 48th.
After dinner at Planet Hollywood we walked to The Palace Theatre in the next block to see "West Side Story." Some of the students on this trip performed in the pit orchestra for Waubonsie Valley's performance of "West Side Story" last May.
On Wednesday we went on a multi-ethnic eating tour in which we walked all morning and tried a variety of foods while learning about the areas we visited and related history. After lunch in Little Italy and Chinatown the students had a clinic with a musician while we chaperones had two free hours to roam the area. During this time a few of us saw the Flatiron Building and we ran into Chris March from "Project Runway." We managed to see many remarkable sights during our free time.
Later I read that on a clear day one can see great distances and many states from atop the Empire State Building. This was not our experience. We were there on a very cloudy, windy and rainy evening. It was so cloudy that we could only see about a block away. It was so windy that people's umbrellas turned inside out and their hair blew straight out. We did not have to wait in any line to go up top because no one in their right mind would pay to go up in that kind of weather.
Thursday morning we packed up and headed into the city for the last time. We had a short time to tour the American Museum of Natural History.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and warm. We took a walk into Central Park where we saw Strawberry Fields after walking past the building where John Lennon had lived. We toured the Lincoln Center buildings, which house the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Philharmonic. After dinner we returned to spend an evening enjoying a performance of the New York Philharmonic.
We arrived home that Friday afternoon exhausted and full of incredible memories.
Sherry Tatar can be reached at sherrytatar@ameritech.net.