The Music Department Tour traveled from Thursday Jan. 11 to Sunday Jan. 14 in Kansas City and Iowa. The tour consisted of students in the auditioned music classes of choir, band, and orchestra. Faculty members Natalia Romero Arbeláez, Upper School Choir Director, Brian Lukkasson, Upper School Instrumental Music Director, Maggie Bowman, 11th Grade Dean, Bill Colburn, Upper School Visual Arts Director, and Nat Gilsdorf, Upper School Instructional Technology Coach and Student Innovation Coordinator accompanied the students during the trip. Felix Riedel ‘24 describes the music tour as, “a rite of passage of sorts. You have to go through the whole bus ride, and hotels, and the chaos, but it’s all worth it. It’s really fun, you connect with so many people from both students and faculty.”
After a 7:15a.m. departure, the first stop was Luther College in Decorah, Iowa fora campus tour and clinic with members of the Luther Music Faculty. Students split up by the music department and performed a piece for a Luther music faculty member and received feedback. Saléya Scott ‘25 described the clinic with a choir faculty member as helpful, stating, “We found new dynamics, especially with Chante Waste, it’s a very hard song and it’s nice to get feedback.” Everyone ate dinner, buffet style, at Cinco de Mayo in Des Moines, Iowa, Reidel and Alana Krush ‘27’s favorite meal of the trip.
The following morning, the department traveled to the Arboretum and Botanical Gardens for free time to tour around the area as well as a performance from each of the departments. While the temperature outside was cold, there were intricate sculptures that made the gardens worth the walk. Krush explained, “I just think it was a good experience, and even though the weather was bad, we still got through.”
Channel 9 News recorded the performances of the student-led groups. After these performances, the A Capella choir, band, and orchestra groups performed a few of their pieces for the public. The snow storms across the country prevented the department from seeing the show Stomp because the actors couldn’t make it. The faculty decided that after dinner at Jack Stack BBQ or Buca di Beppo, everyone could go to Main Event, a huge arcade with a high ropes course, laser tag, and dance machines.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum was the first location the department traveled to the next day. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt, sending everyone through different sections of the museum to solve the questions. The hotel in Des Moines, Iowa was the next stop after lunch. Due to one bus arriving before the food did, students participated in activities including Just Dance and Oboshinotentoten to keep themselves occupied and warm. The activity for the final night of the trip was Game Night; teachers and students played phone-free games from Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza to Egyptian Rat Slap and assembled puzzles. Predictions for next year’s tour students had a wide variety of responses; While Krush said, “I heard it’s Cuba,” Meri Harkins ‘25 “hope[s] it’s Toronto.” Scott didn’t have a specific state or country in mind while making her prediction, but said, “Hopefully somewhere warm.”
