Thursday – On the bus

Over 100 music students sat in the auditorium at South High School at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 11. And I was nervous. In seconds Mr. Carter, the band director, would allow students to start loading the buses. In that moment it seemed that everything hinged on getting the best seat.

“Senior Ladies first!” he called out, and we ran onstage to grab our luggage, taunting the boys who were outraged at this turn of events. I grabbed my suitcase, two blankets, and my bag of snacks and ran onto the slushy sidewalk and into the wintery mix I was dying to drive away from.

In no time we were settled on the bus, and the snacks were out. I swear I didn’t stop eating until the dinner stop in Madison. Puppy chow, apples, cheese-its, beef jerky, animal crackers, chocolate covered malt balls – there were just too many options to pass them up!

Being the democratically-driven students that we are, we voted on movies and chose “John Tucker Must Die,” much to the chagrin of many of the guys. But by the end of the movie senior Jonah Rothstein described it as the “best worst movie;” an accurate description, I think.

That was swiftly followed by the “Lion King.” The bus could probably be heard from miles away as the group belted the opening to the “Circle of Life.” For a bus of music students it was pathetically out of tune. The sing-along continued, although it seemed that only me and my seat buddy, senior Ellen Gorsky, participated.

By the end of the movie it was time for our dinner stop. A butter burger from Culver’s quickly found it’s way into my hands. And I learned a valuable lesson from Gorsky: The Scoopie Kids meal is just over five dollars (the cheapest meal on the menu) and comes with a burger, fries, a soda, and an ice cream cone. I would highly recommend this option if ever you find yourself in a Culver’s.

After dinner, by popular request, we watched “Holes,” with an extended discussion about how to pronounce Shia LaBeouf’s name, and whether or not the boy who plays Zero is cute. The final verdict was that it is pronounced (shy-ah la-buff) and Zero is, in fact, a super cutie in the movie, though the actor isn’t in real life.

As the sky got darker and darker, I got drowsier and drowsier, and as others were starting to doze off, I settled in with seniors Kiernan Skelley, Henry Huber and Kristofer Bergh to tell stories about our middle schools and to, as Henry says, “catch up on all the gossip.”

Our final rest stop finds a huge line of girls in the bathroom, fighting over mirror space and yelling across the room, asking to borrow face wash and toothpaste. I can’t help but feel bad for the travellers who got caught up in our midst, trying to make a simple bathroom break on their trip.

After finishing my nightly routine, I made my way out of the labyrinth that the bathroom had become and dragged myself back on the bus. I made a bed with my blankets on the floor under Huber’s seat, hoping his legs wouldn’t fall onto me in his sleep. I took a dose of ZZZquil, threw on my sleep mask and was asleep before the lights were all off.

Friday – Exploration and Eating

           On Friday morning I awoke to Mr. Carter’s voice blaring through the sound system. I pulled off my sleep mask and struggled out of my spot on the floor to get ready for our breakfast stop.

        I was promptly disappointed with a rather desolate rest stop. My options were Burger King, a convenient store and a Starbucks with a record-breaking line. As I called Guinness, I got into line at Burger King to indulge in some hash browns that I knew would result in a breakout and a stomach ache down the road.

        Boarding the bus again, we were told that we were only 4 hours away from our final destination. I felt like a caged zoo animal finally being released into the wild. But the feeling came with a pang of remorse knowing that this was my last tour with South High School.         As we arrived at the hotel, we gathered with our roommates to get our room keys. We quickly found our room, which was tucked in a secluded hallway a bit away from the main block. It was bigger than expected and, as senior Ellen Gorsky noted, smelled far better than most hotel rooms do.

        We were given time to shower and get changed for our trip to Chinatown. The shower was long overdue for everyone on the trip and felt like a gift from God.

        Once in Chinatown, we dispersed. My group of four found a lovely restaurant near the gates of the neighborhood. Luckily, we beat the rush because within ten minutes of our sitting down, thirty other South High music students were sitting in the restaurant. I like to think we were just the trendsetters of the night.

        After dinner (I had sesame chicken and a half order of noodles in peanut sauce), we went looking for souvenirs. By that time, our group had grown closer to ten people, and we found ourselves crammed into some small little shops. But the ultimate store was a bazaar that we stumbled upon. It was bigger than my house and filled with everything from snacks to trinkets to clothes to fine jewelry and furniture. The only thing that we couldn’t find were the knock-off Nikes that senior Kiernan Skelley was searching for.

        We left Chinatown at around 7, but not before we stopped in a bakery where I had the best bubble tea I have ever had. It was a kiwi smoothie with mango jellies that exploded with flavor in my mouth as I bit down. With delicacy in hand, I boarded the bus a happy camper.

        Back at the hotel, we were given time to swim before bed check. But this was more easily suggested than done, as the majority of our crew, along with students from other schools commandeered the pool. We tried in vain to run in circles and make a whirlpool in the pool. I longed to lounge in the hot tub, but couldn’t find room amongst the 20+ people in it already. The maximum limit of the tub was eight.

        After the pool, I headed into the room of seniors Signe Rudrud, Audrey Franchett, and Gretta Strand to watch “Snow White and the Huntsman,” just because apparently four movies in two days just wasn’t enough for me. We were joined by seniors Henry Huber, Brett Peterson, Jonah Rothstein and sophomore Seamus Hawley. As we lounged and laughed, I realized that moments like these are what the music trip is really about.

        With Kit-Kats and a warm fuzzy feeling in my stomach I went back to my room and got ready for bed, already looking forward to the 5 a.m. wake-up call.

Saturday – A Day for Winners

           At the absolutely obscene hour of 5 a.m. we awoke. My roommates and I quickly got ready and the group headed to the Hard Rock Café for a breakfast buffet. If you ask me, it makes it’s unsettling to listen to loud rock music during breakfast, but the French toast sticks were delicious.

        We immediately went to competition. Senior Sylvia Reilly and I had the unique situation of having to perform with Pop Singers and then take a bus alone to the Wind Ensemble competition. We were running late because of traffic, so the Pop Singers performance slot got pushed back. This means that after performing a set that I felt really confident about, Sylvia and I had to run out of the auditorium before the post-performance clinic.

        On the way to the Wind Ensemble performance, the two of us had an entire coach bus to ourselves, with just two chaperones and two drivers to keep us company. We quickly had to change into the proper concert attire, and warm up our instruments. Never have I ever experienced a more difficult challenge than playing the French horn on a bumpy road.

        At the concert venue, we thankfully had some time to warm up. On stage, I felt that the ensemble put on a good concert, considering the amount of preparation that we had. After performing our two pieces, a judge came up on stage to work with us on dynamics and interpretation. And finally, we were free!

        We went back to the hotel to quickly change for the day, and were set loose in the historical district of the city. It was warm and sunny – I wore a tank top! Upon convening with my group, we went to Jim’s Steaks on 4th and South to get Philly Cheese steak. I was expecting something like a Chili cheese dog, but was very pleasantly surprised by the actual sandwich. I would recommend the restaurant highly.

        After eating on the steps of a historic-looking building (and feeling like I was in Gossip Girl, for anyone who understands the reference) we walked around. We saw the Liberty Bell, and Carpenter’s Hall, where the First Continental Congress was held. By the time that we had arrived to many of the sites, they were unfortunately closed.

        My heart was broken when we made it all the way to the US Mint only to find that it wasn’t open on Saturdays until Memorial Day. But the sunshine made up for it. It was wonderful to be out on a grassy expanse with not a pile of snow in site.

        It was soon time to board the bus and return to the hotel to change for the banquet. There was a minor crisis in my room, as we couldn’t decide what to wear for the dinner and dance. Once we had finally made up our minds, we made our way back to the bus to go to Valley Forge Convention Center.

        The dinner was great, starting with salads and bread, on to a chicken entrée with roasted potatoes, and ending with a chocolate mousse. I think that the real highlight of the meal was when senior Josephine DeAngelo went to the restroom and senior Kiernan Skelley and I dumped at least a couple teaspoons of salt into her water. The look on her face when she took the first sip (and promptly spit it out and punched Kiernan) was priceless.

        South did very well at the awards banquet. Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble both one gold ratings (the highest you can achieve). The rest of the groups (Wind Ensemble, Pop Singers and Varsity Choir) got silver ratings. South as a whole won a variety of other awards, but I guess you will just have to visit the music department to learn about them and to see the trophies.

        Another exciting aspect of the banquet was the individual awards that students won. Students were nominated for the Maestro Awards by the judges themselves. Seniors Ellen Gorsky and Kristofer Bergh won for violin and jazz trumpet respectively. Junior Josh Johnson won for jazz tenor saxophone. Congratulations, guys!

        After the ceremony, there was a dance where some South students, including myself made a fool of ourselves on the dance floor. It was so much fun. Although at times, I was mildly scared for my safety, as students from other schools were determined to make form a mosh pit.

        Upon arriving back at the hotel, we found that the pool was closed due to a chemical imbalance, so we found ourselves in my room talking and watching workaholics right up until the bed check.

        It felt good to be asleep at the end of a long day, but it felt better to go to sleep a winner.

Sunday – Seeing the Sights

Sunday morning was easy. We didn’t have to be out of the hotel until 10 a.m. – the latest morning of any music trip that I have been on!

Once on the bus, we dropped students off at the Cherry Blossom Festival, or as we called it, the “Flower Festival.” This festival celebrates the cherry blossom trees that bloom every spring on the East Coast. It also recognizes many aspects of Japanese culture, from cuisine to music to art.

I, however, went to the Eastern State Penitentiary, which was, at one time the biggest prison in America. Our tour guide walked us through cells, the baseball fields, and the punishment cells, which would have been underground and pitch black, if not for the lights the administration had installed.

When the tour guide told us about the occupancy of the site, one student exclaimed, “It’s like South, except South has less windows!”

            And then it was on the bus again. Some watched “The Avengers,” but I took a nap.

            When I woke up, we decided that we had to watch “National Treasure,” which took place in Philadelphia. It was really fun to see  all of the sites that we had just visited in the context of a mediocre plot line and terrible acting provided by the one and only Nicholas Cage.

            The rest of the bus ride was filled with sleep and games, with a dinner stop thrown in there. I battled over my need to do homework and my desperate desire not to. Eventually my heart won out over my head (unsurprisingly).

            Eventually, after our final nighttime rest stop – this time with many more sinks than the last stop. After a gulp of ZZZquil, I eventually found sleep.

Monday – Home again

n the early hours of Monday morning, I ventured to the restroom on the back of the bus by climbing over seats and piles of legs. Upon arriving back at my sleeping spot, I found that my blanket had been stolen from me. So, blanket-less, I went back to sleep.

            After our breakfast stop in Tomah, Wisconsin, we watched Pitch Perfect, which led exactly up to arriving back at South High School. It was a bittersweet moment, knowing that I was finished with my last tour, and that means that I will be finished with high school in less than two months.

            I had a great time on this tour. I’m glad that I am involved in South Music, and I’m proud of how all groups represented themselves and South High School as a whole. To all of the seniors, it was wonderful sharing this last tour with you. And to everyone else, I hope that you continue to carry on the legacy of South Music.

            Like we learned from Nick Cannon and the movie, “Drumline,” “One band, one sound!”