On Wed., March 16, a few 50 members from the high school and middle school concert band, including me, got the opportunity of the life time to go and perform in the Big Apple. After watching the clock tick down all day at school, by 8:00 in the evening parents and students were packing the bus with instruments and suitcases and gearing up for a long night on the road.

By 11:00 the next morning, the New York City skyline came into view. The traffic increased into a jumbled mess. After going through the Lincoln Tunnel, we were in the city where dreams come true. The hustle and bustle of the city was all around: yellow taxis zoomed by, buses bumped along, and the skyscrapers loomed. Our bus took us to the heart of the city to our first stop, the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

Most of the students on the trip were too young to remember this fateful day,  some  were not even born yet, but the impact was great. It was hard to speak because there was nothing to be said. The first thing visitors hear when walking into the museum is recounts from survivors and pictures of the New York City skyline before the terrorist attack occurred. The museum was an experience that many will take to heart and is an absolute must-see when visiting NYC..

After the museum, we ate on the streets of New York. Sitting and watching the city go by was like a deep moment in the beginning of a rom-com that takes place in the city. Life goes by. People walk by with purpose in their step. After lunch, we  got on a ferry to takes us to the Statue of Liberty which stands proudly on Liberty Island just off of Manhattan. It was amazing to view this iconic staple of New York before heading to the diverse areas of Chinatown and Little Italy. There, we got to spend some time walking around the streets and experience a multitude of cultures.

The next day was our performance at Trump Tower in our new uniforms. We set up stage in a little area down in Trump Tower. We gave a performance of a lifetime after months of hard work. Then after changing and loading the bus again, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, otherwise known as The Met. We got to see famous sculptures and paintings. There was so much to see, but in our short amount of time we only got to see a small fraction of what The Met had to offer.

From The Met, we walked along 5th Avenue. With Prada on the left and Tiffany’s on the right, it was hard to imagine that people can actually afford to buy merchandise in the stores that dotted 5th Avenue. Our trip then led us the The Hard Rock Cafe located in the heart of Times Square. After enjoying a nice meal, we got some free time to explore the different stores and enjoy the lights of Times Square. Then, in the middle of the night in our hotel, while we were resting up for our last day in New York, the fire alarm went off at 4:00 in the morning. That was quite an adventure.

Our last day in New York led us to the Top of the Rock, where we took an elevator ride up to the top of the Rockefeller building giving us a nice, full view of New York City. Then we got a spunky tour guide to show us around and give us a few history lessons of New York. We went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which was beautiful. We then ventured to Central Park, an oddity in the big city. It’s a bunch of nature surrounded by skyscrapers. After Central Park, we then went to Wall Street. We saw where George Washington was first inaugurated as the first President of the United States, and Alexander Hamilton’s grave. After saying goodbye to our guide, we got dinner and then headed to Times Square again, then to Broadway.  We saw Matilda at the Shubert Theatre, which was an amazing show. We then got on the bus to go home, much to the dismay of many.

Overall New York City was amazing. It is an absolute must trip to add to your bucket list. I know I will never forget the feeling of walking down the streets, feeling a part of something. The opportunity to perform in New York City was hard to grasp at first.  Mr. Dennison was very touched by the trip. “The trip to New York was a once in a lifetime event for most of us. The experiences and memories we all shared will not be soon forgotten. My experience at Trump Tower is one of the highlights of my career.”

All the students and parents fortunate enough to travel to New York City want to thank Mr. Dennison for organizing an adventure that many would otherwise not have been able to take.