Boston welcomes Newport Harbor High School’s wind ensemble, orchestra for a visit
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When they first heard a group of Newport Harbor High School musicians would head to Boston over Memorial Day weekend, most of the students involved just thought going on a cross-country trip with their friends sounded like a fun adventure.
But what instrumental music instructor Andrew Julian hoped for was that the students would come out feeling like they’d grown not only as musicians but as people.
“We perform a lot in the beach communities here — Costa Mesa, Newport Beach,” Julian said. “With everything, we have about 50 performances altogether, including the Balboa Island Parade. But it’s all in this bubble. [Trips] are opportunities for us to go and represent our school in a significantly different environment than what they’re used to.
“Some of them have never been up to Los Angeles, so they’ve never seen a major metropolitan city. This was an opportunity to leave the West Coast and go to the opposite end of the country where, let’s face it, culturally it’s different.
“All of those experiences allow for personal growth but also as musicians. It’s really important to me to make those opportunities for my students.”
The previous school year, Julian had reached out to Music Celebrations International, which helps provide opportunities to performance groups to attend and participate in events. When they’d asked what cities he was interested in, Julian threw out a few names. New York, Chicago, Boston.
Last September, students in the school’s wind ensemble and orchestra learned they’d be performing in the city affectionately nicknamed Beantown.
About 40 students went, with their trips paid for either by fundraising, scholarships through the Newport Harbor Education Foundation or their parents.
Julian said they capitalized on using the trip as a teaching opportunity for students to learn more about the American Revolution. In addition to their performances, they visited Plymouth, Concord and Lexington.
Rising senior Kat Espinoza, who plays violin, said the Boston trip was her last band trip before she would graduate next June. She said she loved traveling with friends and wanted to perform in a space she’d never been before.
Heather Rivard, a sophomore, said she thought the trip was a good way for her to close out her school year.
“I knew we were going somewhere, but I didn’t think we’d leave California. The talk of a trip didn’t make me want to join band. I already wanted to, but I was definitely more intrigued,” Rivard said.
One of her favorite memories of the trip was seeing the Blue Man Group live with her fellow musicians and the dinner that they had shortly afterward, which she described as almost a like a family get-together.
“I think these trips are really cool. We get to see places that we might not have otherwise. If not for band, I don’t think I would’ve gone to Boston,” Rivard said. “Even though it’s kind of expensive, we really made the most out of every day going with the school. We came back to the hotel almost every day at 9:30 [p.m.] and there was not a time where we were sitting around.”
Jack Douglas, a junior who plays the violin, said he didn’t know much about Boston prior to the trip beyond that it holds a prominent place in American history.
His favorite of the band’s two performances was at First Church in Cambridge, where he said the acoustics were phenomenal.
Espinoza and Rivard said their favorite performance was the one held at Quincy Market, where the group attracted a crowd of onlookers.
“It’s just very cool to see these places and play at these places; it’s so different than home. It’s all very different than California,” said Douglas.
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