A Glimpse Into a Few of the
Many 2016 Shorewood Spring Break Trips
SHS Orchestra Trip
“This spring break, the SHS Orchestra traveled to France and Spain for a week of
sightseeing and performances. After months of preparation and rehearsal, 130 student
musicians and 40 parent chaperones departed for Avignon from O'Hare on Sunday,
March 27. After two wonderful days of sightseeing in Avignon and Arles, France
(medieval palaces and a Roman Coliseum), the students had their first performance in
Chateauneuf des Papes. They played beautifully for a large group of enthusiastic local
residents, including some students from our sister school in L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Even
after all the rigors of travel, they played better than ever!
After the concert in France, we spent a day in Carcasonne, a reconstructed medieval
city in southern France, then checked in to our hotel in Barcelona, Spain, just one block
away from a beach on the Mediterranean Sea! Students and parents toured the famous
Sagrada Familia and saw other Gaudi landmarks on a driving tour of the
city. Saturday evening was the most memorable performance experience I have ever
had on tour. After spending the morning at Montserrat on a mountain high above
Barcelona, we returned to the heart of the old city for our first meeting with the Cor
del Barcelona, and our concert that evening. The moment we entered the 12th century
cathedral, we knew it would be a special concert. After rehearsing with the community
choir, we were looking forward even more to the performance. However, when the
students took their seats and we saw more than 2,000 local music lovers in attendance,
we were stunned. The standing room only crowd showed so much appreciation, joy,
and love for the American students, the mostly elderly Catalonian singers, and the
music itself, that the emotions were overwhelming. Barcelona is a very special place in
the world for art and music, and we experienced that in a big way! I am sure it is a night
none of us will forget, marred only by a Barcelona loss in the big game against Madrid
(although some of our coach drivers were happy!) The students and chaperones
enjoyed some well-deserved free time on our last day in Barcelona and at the beach in
Calella, and we ended our stay with a flamenco performance in our hotel.
Special thanks to all of the Shorewood Orchestra parents who helped with trip
preparations and chaperoning, and a very special thanks to the SHS Orchestra students
for an unforgettable performance tour!”
~Karen Frink, Orchestra Director
SHS Band Trip
“The SHS Tour Band spent their spring break traveling to Orlando, Florida to participate
in performances, clinics, and to enjoy some theme park hopping! Nearly 40 band
students and four chaperones departed from Milwaukee on Wednesday evening, March
30. Despite a plane delay of almost three hours—which got the students to their
Orlando hotel around 2:30 a.m.—the students were miraculously fully energized for
their first day in Florida! The group spent a full day of swimming and eating a beachside
BBQ at Cocoa Beach, and then headed out that afternoon to perform an exchange
concert with Melbourne High School, located just outside of Orlando. The students
performed very well and offered great feedback for the Melbourne Band. A wonderful
pizza dinner was shared between the two schools, followed by an evening of shopping
and entertainment at Disney Springs!
In the days to come, the students were able to explore the four Disney theme parks
including: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom! We also
spent a full day at Universal Studios where students had access to both sections of the
park, allowing them to ride the two Harry Potter rides.
In addition to the local high school exchange concert, students also had the chance to
perform at Disney Springs in front of hundreds of people. You can view videos of one of
their amazing performances here. Following the performance, the Disney cast
members even told the students that our band sounded like a college-level band!
One of the last adventures that our band students experienced was the opportunity to
participate in a clinic at Epcot. The students learned how to prioritize on a whim and
how to prepare for a full concert with brand new, never rehearsed music in only 2.5
hours (as opposed to the normal 6-8 weeks)! The clinician did an excellent job of
connecting with the students and raising the standard very quickly. Every sound we
made during this clinic was recorded by a professional sound technician for playback. At
the end of the rehearsal, we were given a copy of the final musical product (complete
with Disney animation added) and this will be presented at the May concert!
We sincerely thank all the Shorewood Band parents, tour chaperones, and the SHS
Band students who made this performance tour a lasting memory for years to come!
Another exciting performance tour for the band will occur in the spring of 2018! Thank
you and go SHS Bands! “
~Nick Castonguay, Band Director
SHS Choir Trip
“During spring break, the SHS Choir traveled to the South of France and Northern
Spain for a week of performances and sightseeing. After months of preparation and
rehearsal, 25 student musicians and ten parent chaperones departed from O'Hare for
Bordeaux, France on Saturday, March 26.
Our first performance was on Monday, March 28, which was a shared program with the
JAVA (Jeune Académie Vocale d'Aquitaine) choir at the Centre Vivres de L'art in
Bordeaux. Our singers enjoyed rehearsing and performing with the JAVA choir—a
group of 9-18 year-old singers—in a tremendous new performance and visual arts
facility. Our concert was very well-received by an extremely appreciative audience,
who gave us a standing ovation and demanded an encore of the combined choirs.
The following day, after a half-day of sightseeing to places such the Palace Royal in
Bordeaux and after an informal performance at an 11th century cathedral, we traveled
to the small village of St. Laurent des Hommes for another shared concert. This time,
we collaborated with Chorale Polysons, a community choir of 35 retirees. The
community was very welcoming and went so far as to close the only restaurant in the
town so that they could prepare and provide our students with a dinner of zucchini
soup, duck, and roasted potatoes. The evening concert was held inside yet another 11th
century church, and the space was quickly filled with hundreds of enthusiastic
community members who also demanded an encore. The evening concluded with a
wonderful gathering at the community center, where the choirs and a large group of
locals enjoyed locally made food, desserts, and lots of joyous singing.
The following day we traveled to Birritz where we enjoyed the beautiful ocean-side
community and some much needed free time at the beach before traveling on to
Bilbao. In Bilbao, we explored the city and ended up at the Guggenheim museum where
we performed a "flashmob" concert for pedestrians, and then took time to tour the
museum and view the amazing contemporary artwork.
Following this, we traveled to the beautiful seaside town of Santander for a brief tour,
and performed a beautiful informal concert at yet another cathedral—this time a
slightly newer one from the 13th century.
Our final day in Bilbao featured more sightseeing and a concert with the Conservatory
Choir of San Jan Bautista Abesbatza. Their choir featured singers primarily in their
early twenties (many of which were graduate-level students) and performing with them
was both phenomenal and inspiring. The venue was again packed with people, forcing
the staff to open the balcony for more concert lovers. The evening concluded with a
social for both choirs at a local restaurant, before retiring and preparing for our
departure to Madrid.
In Madrid, we enjoyed much sightseeing including taking a walking tour of the palace
grounds, seeing the bullfighting stadium, and visiting the Prado Art Museum where we
saw artwork of the great Spanish masters. Our final day in Madrid included lots of
shopping and lots of eating in the Plaza de Mayor.
We returned home on April 4th exhausted but satisfied. Not only did we perform four
formal and six informal concerts, but we also saw the amazing sights of Southern
France and Northern and central Spain, and we created memories that will be cherished
forever.
Thank you to the Shorewood community for your support of transformative learning
experiences, the many chaperones who joined us on our journey, and the choir students
who worked so hard, performed extraordinarily, and represented our community so
well! “
~Jason Clarke, Choir Director
SHS Best Buddies Trip
The Shorewood Best Buddies group thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Florida
Everglades! The group canoed and camped around Florida's 10,000 islands for five days,
encountering dolphins, scorpions, sharks, alligators and many bugs.
“On the first day, our group met our tour guides and went to the Shark Valley Nature
Park. Shark Valley Nature Park lies in the heart of the Everglades and has lots of
wildlife. We went on a two-hour tram ride where the guide showed us huge alligators,
beautiful birds, and turtles.
The next day we launched our canoes on the Blackwater River and canoed nearly
twelve miles to Hog Key in the 10,000 Islands. Throughout the ride, we battled a
headwind and a current that flowed against us, and though we were tired, when we
made it to our destination we set up camp and recuperated with a nice dinner.
The next morning started off a little rough as we were swarmed and bit by noseeum
bugs, but we quickly recovered and took a short canoe ride right into the beautiful
White Horse Key. We then unloaded our canoes and for the rest of the day just relaxed
in the sun and ate some amazing homemade meals. We had the chance to watch the
beautiful sunset and see the ultra-bright stars before retreating to our tents.
The next day, we canoed to a nearby beach to enjoy a nice swim and eat lunch. This was
considered our “rest day” and it was nice to relax our muscles for a little while.
We woke up early the next morning to begin the long canoe ride back to the Blackwater
River. This time, we had the tailwind and the current on our side, so we arrived at our
destination much sooner than expected and with less effort involved than earlier in the
trip. We then drove to a nearby campsite and were able to take a much needed shower.
On our final day, we enjoyed the thrill of riding in an incredibly fast airboat around the
Everglades and we were able to spot more alligators, birds, and turtles. Following this
excursion, we said goodbye to our tour guides, spent the night in a hotel, and then left
for Milwaukee in the morning. It was truly an amazing experience for all of us.”
~Noah Wolfe, President of SHS Best Buddies