Music trip to Santa Monica an eye-opener

On Monday, April 4, the school's campus seemed deserted.  Hallways and classrooms alike were emptier than usual, due to the 198 students missing from school. 

The reason for these absences lay in a trip taken by one of the major groups on campus: the orchestra.

The school's string orchestra, symphony orchestra and wind ensemble traveled to Santa Monica on Saturday, March 31. The next day they participated in an exchange concert with Santa Monica High School and Carmel High School from Indiana.  

According to one of the head managers of the orchestra, senior violinist Vivian Tsai, the performances were not only amazing to watch, but also a learning experience.

"Carmel High's Symphony Orchestra was very impressive, probably the best high school symphony orchestra I've ever seen," Tsai said. "The experience was special because we got to see how amazing other orchestral programs from different parts of the country are and see what they do better than us and reflect on how we can improve.”

Yet the trip was not spent solely in music related activities.  The students were given a chance over the weekend to spend time around town in areas such as the beach and the promenade, Tsai said.

"Students were allowed to spend their free time either exploring or hanging out at the hotel," Tsai said.

On Monday, the groups spent the day at the amusement park Six Flags Magic Mountain.

"Magic Mountain was nice because the lines were really short. I'm not a big roller coaster person, but I was still able to have fun on the easier rides," Tsai said.

According to orchestra member junior Bennett Lopez, one of the most memorable aspects of the trip was seeing fascinating architecture.

"The best part of the trip was probably the campus of Santa Monica High, which had an amphitheater that was enormous," Lopez said. "Also, another awesome part [was] their concert hall, which was actually on top of their music building."

Lopez felt that the performance itself was memorable and valuable for him as a musician.

"The trip was an exciting way to meet other high school kids with similar music programs to ours," said Lopez. "Listening to them play was an awesome experience that demonstrated the talent of those groups."

Music director Michael Boitz said that it was an honor to have the chance to play alongside such esteemed high school orchestras and likely a one-time chance.

"Carmel [High has], hands-down, one of the best music programs in the Midwest," Boitz said.  "The opportunity to have a concert with [them] was really inspiring."

Boitz feels that this concert was a good opportunity for students to grow and improve their music skills.

"For our advanced ensembles, as opposed to going to a heritage festival or competitive festival, this is probably more meaningful," Boitz said. "It makes a lot more sense for programs of comparable backgrounds and comparable achievement to combine forces together."

Boitz is optimistic that students were able to get a lot out of this the concert and entire experience.

"Hopefully they got inspired by the really high caliber orchestras that they heard and it was eye opening [as to] the next level of achievement they are capable of doing in class," Boitz said.

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