WUHS Band Experiences Broadway
Band students were struggling to keep their eyes open in classes on Tuesday, November 13th. However, many students will say that their trip to New York City the previous weekend was well worth it.
On Sunday November 11th, most of the students in the high school band went to NYC to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The students also traveled to the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art the next day.
“I liked it.” said 9th grade clarinet player Ian Goldberg. “I thought it was a great opportunity for students who have never been to New York, and for students who had been, it was fun to go with your friends, and a good experience.”
The Broadway play, The Phantom of the Opera, was quite a unique experience for the WUHS band members. The band played a medley of music from the show for several weeks in class, and eventually performed it at a concert. As they all had experience with the music beforehand, the play provided an opportunity to hear familiar music played by an unfamiliar band/orchestra, and with a whole play.
“Probably my favorite part of the trip was Phantom of the Opera.” said 9th grade trumpet player Devin Ziegler. “The show was cool. We didn’t really do much about playing instruments, but I felt like it motivated a lot of students to keep doing band because they get to go to New York.”
Mr. Henderson, the band teacher, organizes quite a few different trips for the band in an effort to create a team of a band students. Trips like these help the band bond and experience new things, at least for some. “He’s always looking for opportunities for his students,” states Luis Bango about Mr. Henderson. Mr. Bango also attended the trip and had a lot to say about it.
He described the values of attending the Broadway show, The Phantom of the Opera. This play is the longest running on Broadway. “So it’s like reading Shakespeare in English class.” Bango says. He noted that another benefit of the play was observing the many musical components.
“Our groups was captivated by the level of musicality and production the show offered in person” Mr. Henderson himself stated about seeing The Phantom of the Opera.
Another event the band students experienced in New York City was the Veteran's Day Parade. Here at Woodstock, the band student participate in a Veteran’s Day assembly and a Memorial Day parade, and they are familiar with the same music that is played at the parade in NYC. It was a great experience to see an extensive parade in a big city.
“I am incredibly proud of the students and chaperones for keeping up such a fast pace to fit so much into the time we were there” said Mr. Henderson. “We basically were there barely over 24 hours and enjoyed the NY Veterans Day Parade, a Broadway Show, a group dinner and some hang time on Times Square, followed by visits to two iconic museums the following day. Plus we discovered why My Pie Pizzeria Romana 72nd street has 4.5 stars with 600 reviews on Yelp. Seriously though, and I am very confident that all travelers would agree, we had a great time while displaying positive representations of our school and community.”
