Over spring break from Tuesday, March 31 to Friday, April 4, the Rancho Cucamonga Wind Ensemble flew to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall on Friday, April 3.
The trip was a big opportunity for the students to showcase their orchestral talent in a new, unfamiliar area as well as gain new experiences travel wise.
“As far as the rigor and the musical abilities of the students, getting into the national band orchestra festival was a really big accomplishment,” band director,Mr. James Ana said. “Also getting that opportunity and being able to make it financially was really important as well.”
Days prior to the performance, performers had the opportunity to walk around and explore the city in groups. The wind ensemble went to watch “Wicked,” a Broadway classic, at the Gershwin Theatre and visited the Empire State Building.
“My overall experience in New York was very fun,” junior Chase Nixon said. “It was a bit tiring at first, but there was a lot of cool stuff there. It’s fun to go around, and especially hang out with friends pretty much the entire time.”
Although being in New York was an enjoyable experience for members of the wind ensemble, there were many challenges and obstacles the band program had to first overcome to make the trip a reality.
“The biggest challenge is the financial aspect. There’s no funding from the district or state budget to help make this trip happen,” Ana said. “So, it really came down to the students and the booster organization to be able to fund the trip.”
Ana explained that aside from the cost, there were other factors that he had to consider such as luggage and keeping a large amount of students accounted for throughout their stay in New York.
“Just tickets alone, luggage, and then the cost of performing at Carnegie Hall was about an $110,000 trip. Coming up with that money was a lot of hard work,” Ana said. “Then also the logistics of getting 51 students clear across the country, making sure nobody gets lost, and that our instruments make it there in one piece.”
Another issue that the wind ensemble faced was that there was no time for a pre-show rehearsal, but the students managed to push through individually.
“We took some opportunities and the kids would actually sing their parts,” Ana said. “When we were at LAX, we were in the terminal singing the parts while I conducted so that way they’d get a mental and physical run through of what the music sounds like.”
Despite all of the obstacles faced throughout this trip, the students still found it memorable. Senior Clarissa Quevedo said that the event was meaningful to her as a senior graduating soon. She said she felt that it was a golden opportunity and the trip left a nice end to her band path.
“It meant a lot, being a senior. I enjoyed traveling a lot and being able to end my concert band career in New York,” Quevedo said. “It was definitely a very treasured experience that has a special spot in my heart.”
New York was a major opening and encounter for the students, especially for those who were new to the program. Ana said that he would want to consider another trip similar to this one in the future since it was monumental for everyone.
“One of the trips I’m actually possibly looking into is traveling to Chicago, Illinois and performing at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s performance hall in the Percy Grainger Festival,” Ana said.
The RCHS Band looks forward to many more significant performances in the future and also expanding their program as a whole. According to Ana, the students and parents of the band have worked hard to help him plan this trip and make it successful.
“I really appreciated the opportunity that I was allotted through, you know, the hard work of the students and the parents,” Ana said.
