The Chicago Music Tour was an amazing trip, from January 12-15, filled with new experiences, adventuring, performances, and fun. We went to Chicago by bus with Choir director, Natalia Romero Arbeláez, and the Band and Orchestra teacher, Brian Lukkasson. Chaperones of the trip were Jen Vance, Maggie Bowman, Kyle Giessler, and Ben Cady. I am part of the choir that went to Chicago, and also documented the trip on Spectrum’s Instagram.

During the trip, we sang with and performed for two schools, SouthWest High School in Minneapolis, and North Shore County Day School in Illinois. They both had a lot of students who were very enthusiastic about choir and were so kind to us. It was a great experience to see a little bit of the environment of a different school. North Shore had a very small choir of 9 students, and it was impressive to hear them stay so strong on their singing parts with only a few kids in each. 

We also went on many adventures around Chicago which were beautiful and a really fun experience. In groups of students, everyone was able to go around the Chicago Botanic Gardens, exploring Michigan Ave, The Bean, the Field Museum, as well as the Navy Pier. I especially loved the view at the Navy Pier, which contained Lake Michigan, cool-looking shoreline boats, a ferris wheel, and a skyline view. Aside from performing for the two schools, Choir, Band, and Orchestra performed at the Field Museum, and Orchestra participated in a String Clinic. 

On the night of our arrival to Chicago, we went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in concert. The movie played in the background as the orchestra played the exact music from the movie. I loved watching the violinists’ hands while playing certain sections, they were moving incredibly fast and hit the precise notes. On our second night in Chicago we went to “The Lion King” at the Cadillac Palace Theater. The traveling Broadway cast was incredible. The costumes were gorgeous, and because each of the characters were animals, their costumes were very intricate to illustrate which animal they were. Many characters had heads of their animal right above their actors’ heads, which could move around depending on the position of each person. The Lion King was an unforgettable performance that I won’t forget!

Overall, I loved going on tour and experiencing Chicago for the first time as well as forming new friendships with other students. Although I loved everything about the trip, my favorite parts were seeing The Lion King, exploring Michigan Ave, and spending time with my friends. I had a great experience and look forward to going on another music tour in the future.