NEW YORK — A group of 120 Houlton High School music students and chaperones took to Manhattan on a fabulous four-day trip to the Big Apple from April 25-28. Lots of great sight seeing, wonderful music making and long days of activities made this a great trip experience for Houlton High School band and chorus students. Students had an opportunity to partake in the Worldstrides Heritage Music Festival while also getting the taste of life in the big city.
“As part of the music side of the trip, a stop at Westbrook High School allowed Houlton students to work with vocal director Michelle Snow and band director Kyle Smith, both outstanding educators in their respective fields,” said RSU 29 band director Joe Fagnant. “Important feedback on performing techniques and sound production helped the ensembles make some adjustments for their competition the very next day. Students boarded the buses again to make a trip to a mall and their hotel in Connecticut.”
The Houlton ensembles performed in the morning of Friday, April 26 at the beautiful, historic, Riverside Church in the upper West Side of Manhattan. All groups were scored by three adjudicators, who also provided recorded feedback and talked to the students after their performances. The music department was represented by the Concert Choir, Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Off Beat percussion ensemble.
After an early morning of adjudication, the business end of the trip was complete, and it was time to relax and enjoy some sights including the Empire State Building that afternoon and Times Square in the evening.
At Times Square, students checked out shopping and food options in the heart of the theater district and then went to a Broadway show, with choices being “Chicago,” “Spiderman,” “The Lion King” or ‘Wicked.”
“It was a long first day in New York and a short bus ride to the next hotel in New Jersey,” Fagnant said. “Some much needed sleep led to a fun-filled Saturday.”
On Saturday, students were dropped off at the American Museum of Natural History on the west side of Central Park. Hundreds of thousands of artifacts could be explored including the popular dinosaur exhibits. Free time was spent at the museum, and students and chaperones enjoyed various walking options, including trips through Central Park and down 5th Avenue.
The entire group met up again at Rockefeller Center, overlooking the famous golden fountains and international flags that are located in front of the Rockefeller building and NBC Studios. One of the highlights of the trip for many students was the dinner dance cruise that took place later that day around the tip of Manhattan.
“This sun set cruise on the Circle Line offered wonderful views of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations and both the east and west shores of Manhattan,” Fagnant said. “A professional DJ entertained the students and chaperones, as they let loose and danced their way around the tip of Manhattan. Houlton students were also able to make connections with festival students from other schools.”
A long day of sightseeing ended with every school that performed at the two-day festival gathering again at the Riverside Church for the awards ceremony.
“This was one of the largest festivals Worldstrides Heritage has hosted in New York City and included 45 groups from 15 states, three Canadian provinces and even Australia,” Fagnant said. “Thousands of students filled the church for the awards.”
Houlton directors Jason Anderson and Fagnant, along with some selected seniors received trophies and plaques including: Gold Award for Concert Choir, Silver Award for Symphonic Band, Gold Award First Place for Concert Band and Gold Award with Adjudicators Award for the Off Beat percussion ensemble.
“The festival hosts notified the school that “Off Beat” received the highest score of any group at the festival,” Fagnant said.
A long day of travel back to Houlton took place on Sunday, April 29.
“Beautiful weather accompanied the group back home and students arrived home safe, tired, but satisfied with a job well done and many memories that will last a life time,” he said. “The music department wishes to thank the wonderful chaperones, the well behaved and professional students, administration, teachers and the community for the outstanding support. Trips of this magnitude can only happen with great community backing and a huge thank you goes to all the hard working parents of the RSU 29 Music Boosters. This was a trip of a lifetime and a great experience for Houlton students.”
