Fourteen Alan B. Shepard High School band students spent part of their summer trading their usual rehearsals for concert stages, historic landmarks and new experiences across Europe.
The Shepard musicians traveled June 14-28 as part of a 46-student ensemble made up of band students from nine Chicagoland high schools. The group performed in several European cities while also visiting some of the continent’s most well-known sights.
“Going on this trip to Europe was such an amazing experience for me,” Shepard senior Bryanna Robinson said. “I have always wanted to travel abroad, experience new things, and step out of my comfort zone. Who would’ve thought that I would be performing music in such beautiful places on top of that?”
The trip marked the first international performance tour for Illinois students through the Senior All-Stars of Music Program. The program has taken high school musicians on international performance tours for three years. Guardian Travel Group helped facilitate the trip.
Shepard Band Director Ken George worked with band directors from Wheaton Warrenville South High School and Glenbard East High School to organize the statewide nomination process.
Students were nominated by their band directors and submitted audition tapes. Those selected paid about $7,200 for the trip through a combination of fundraising and out-of-pocket expenses.
The 46 musicians came from Stagg High School in Palos Hills, Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Oak Park and River Forest High School, Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Montini Catholic High School in Lombard, Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago, Joliet Central High School and Shepard High School.
Forty of the 46 students had never traveled outside the United States.
The group traveled to Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria; Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland; Paris and London.
Led by Tony Marinello, director of bands at Illinois State University, the students performed a formal concert at a cathedral in Paris and an informal concert at Baroque Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once performed.
The musicians played marches by John Philip Sousa, music from “Wicked” and “Candide,” works by composer Omar Thomas, Johann Strauss I’s “Radetzky March” and transcriptions of Mozart compositions.
Their time in Europe also included plenty of sightseeing.
The students visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Mount Pilatus in the Swiss Alps. They also toured Versailles, visited Olympic sites in Paris and attended a London production of the musical “Hadestown.”
Salzburg was another memorable stop, particularly for students familiar with “The Sound of Music,” which was filmed in and around the city.
“My experience in Europe is one I’ll always remember,” Shepard junior Scarlet Dalzell said. “It was so new and different, but exciting, especially with us getting to play special music in such amazing places.”
Playing in an ensemble made up of students from different schools took some getting used to.
George said some of his students were accustomed to being among the top players in their school bands. On the trip, they found themselves sitting alongside other strong musicians from across the Chicago area.
“It was the top performers from all the schools’ bands,” George said. “It was interesting seeing my students sit third or fourth chair instead of first chair.”
The students eventually became comfortable with their new seating arrangements and the different musicians around them.
“It took a little time for everyone to gel together, but once everyone got comfortable with the music and their seating arrangement, we put on some pretty good concerts,” George said.
George also took on a different role during the trip. Instead of conducting, he played euphonium with the ensemble while serving as the band division coordinator. He organized rehearsals and helped make sure the students’ instruments made it safely to Europe.
The weather added another challenge in Paris, where the group encountered a heat wave. Air conditioning was not always available, and the combination of heat and humidity made performing uncomfortable.
The students wore polo shirts rather than their usual marching band uniforms.
“You’re drenched in sweat in the end, but it was a fun experience,” George said. “It was so nice to hear the group develop into a mature sound. Everyone in the ensemble contributed equally.”
The students also formed friendships during the trip.
They shared rooms, traveled together and spent nearly two weeks with musicians they had never met before.
“At first, I was nervous about this trip because I knew no one, but it was so easy to interact with the people in this group because we shared so much in common, especially through music,” Shepard senior Daniella Almazan said. “The trip was made 10 times better because of it! I made so many memories with all these people that I never really talked to before and had the best time.”
Not every stop was about music and sightseeing.
The students toured Dachau concentration camp in Germany, one of the first concentration camps established by Nazi Germany. They learned about the people who were imprisoned and killed there and walked through a gas chamber.
George said the visit was a sobering part of the trip and an opportunity for students to see firsthand the historical significance of places they had previously only read about.
“It’s one thing to read about Versailles, but it’s another experience entirely to actually set foot there, walk through the Hall of Mirrors and explore the gardens,” George said.
George hopes to organize another European trip in 2028.
The Shepard students said the memories of their first trip overseas, the music they performed and the friendships they made will stay with them.
“I will never experience everything I did with the exact same people ever again, so I know for a fact that this experience is going to stick with me for a lifetime,” Robinson said.
