CHICAGO BAND AND CHOIR TRIP 2015: A GREAT SUCCESS!
On Thursday, May 14, 2015, at 9:30am, 44 of Brennan's finest musicians embarked on their annual band and choir trip. This time, we found ourselves in Chicago Illinois, home of the most amazing architecture in North America, an exciting cultural history complete with gangsters, speakeasies, and of course the center of blues and swing jazz in North America.
Our students spent their first night at Tommy Gun's Garage where they enjoyed a delicious dinner and interactive musical revue about the gangsters that once ruled Chicago. The next day the Concert Band performed for Lexington Elmhurst Senior Living Residence, and concluded their visit by eating lunch along side the gracious and generous residents of this retirement home. The band sounded great and the audience was incredibly appreciative! We hope to bring future bands their one day as we received a tremendous reception.This was followed by a trip to Navy Pier, an exciting bus tour narrated by a local gangster who schooled us in the history of the city, and of course balcony seats at the Broadway production of Jersey Boys! ( If you haven't been to see this, I highly recommend it !)
On Saturday, May 16, our students traveled to the Field Museum of Natural History where they toured the Vikings Display . Our Sr Jazz Ensemble performed for an hour only a few feet away from Sue, the world's largest Tyrannosaurus Re, and received tremendous accolades for their great work. Special thanks to band parents Mr. and Mrs. Hepburn for attending our concert ! After lunch and shopping on the Magnificent Mile, we boarded our boat at the Wendella docks for a tour of the breathtaking architecture found along the Chicago River. Our weather was perfect and our students were amazed by the sights and the innovation behind these structures.
After a dinner at Andy's Jazz club, where we enjoyed the sounds of quintet Individuation, we braved the dizzying heights of the SkyDeck located in the Sear's Tower ( 12th highest tower in the world). The next day we were fortunate enough to attend mass at Holy Name Cathedral-one of the jewels of the city. Our students were blown away by the amazing choir and instrumentalists that performed throughout this mass. All in all, AN EXCELLENT TRIP!
Congratulations to the Concert Band, Jazz Choir and Sr. Jazz Ensemble for being excellent ambassadors for our school, and country during this wonderful trip. You were absolutely great! Thank you so much to chaperones Mrs. Kelly Koren and Mr. Steuart Bruce for their assistance, expertise and time on this long weekend. We could not have done this without your support.
Chicago trip pictures are posted below and will continue to be posted throughout the next few days!
