MWHS Band and Choir Tour New Orleans

By Lorrie Ham

The focus was music – some planned and some impromptu – when the MWHS Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir took part in an educational and performance tour of New Orleans April 4-9. Both groups participated in master classes at Loyola University and performed on the wharf near the French Quarter before taking an evening jazz cruise on the steamboat Natchez. The two groups also performed at Washington Artillery Park, across from historic Jackson Square, and participated in an exchange concert at a local high school.

 “Musical highlights included performing with the iconic Jackson Square as our backdrop with tourists/locals stopping to listen, and performing for, and listening to the performance of, East Jefferson High School's band,” said Band Director Gretchen Chilson. “Their program is very different from ours (marching-based) but students learned a lot from each other and there was an appreciation for both programs.”

Some of the sites the students and chaperones visited included a Louisiana Swamp Tour (complete with feeding and holding alligators), a historic above-ground cemetery, the Audubon Aquarium, the National WW II Museum, the Riverwalk Marketplace and the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France.

Michaul’s Cajun Restaurant provided live music and dancing one evening, while a New Orleans Ghost Tour explored the grim deeds of the old French Quarter another night. 

"New Orleans is my favorite city to take music students to, because you literally can't get away from the live music. While we were on our ghost tour, a wedding party was accompanied to their reception by a marching band, and we passed several other solo/group performers along the way -- which is just a typical Saturday night in New Orleans,” Chilson added. “The culture there is infused with music -- it isn't just for recital halls! Kids had a great time and learned a lot about music, and how to have pride in what we do as well as show respect for other cultures."

"I love how excited my students are to share their music,” Choir Director Kate Larson said. “Yes, they are excited to travel with friends, sightsee, and shop, but their shared love for music and singing really blossoms on tour. They often break into song when there is no performance scheduled. 

“Perhaps my favorite was in the Old US Mint & Jazz Museum,” Larson continued. “My students found an area that had some reverb--great for singing. They sang several songs together for an audience of their peers. Partway through their impromptu performance, two women came in from outside to listen. They begged for more songs and were even moved to tears by the men's performance of ‘Find the Cost of Freedom.’ To be able to touch even one person with our music makes this trip worthwhile! What amazing students we have at Mound Westonka."

The MWHS Wind Ensemble and Concert Choir, the school’s top two auditioned groups, go on tour every other school year. The trip expenses are covered by student fundraising and the families of the participants.