NHS Orchestra And Chorus Return From Their Italian Tour

By Susan Coney

More than 85 Newtown High School orchestra and chorus students enjoyed a whirlwind, ten-day tour of Italy during the April spring vacation, taking in the cultural ambience, visiting historical sights, and performing in spectacular churches and concert halls throughout the country. For many of the students it was the first time they had been out of the country, and all had colorful stories to share of their memorable visit.

Director of Music for Newtown Schools Michelle Hiscavich and Choral Director John Harned supervised the trip, which was arranged through Music Celebrations International. The students visited Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Venice, Milan, and Cremona.

Ms Hiscavich, who arranged for the overseas field trip said that the high school tries to offer a trip of this magnitude every three to four years, to provide every music student and their parents, a chance to save up for the trip and every student the opportunity some time in their four years at the school to participate in such a trip.

In addition to performing several concerts while in Italy, the students had the chance to tour some of the world’s most significant historical sites such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and the Roman Arena.

While in Florence the group toured the Stradivarius Museum, which exhibits plans, models, molds, and tools belonging to violinmaker Antonio Stradivari. The group then traveled to Venice where they visited the main island of San Marco via public boat.

Mr Harned stated, “My role was as choral director was making sure the music was right; Ms Hiscavich did the nuts and bolts of planning the trip. She collected the forms and money and worked so hard on this trip; she deserves so much credit. A trip such as this is no small task to plan and she did an excellent job.”

Mr Harned added, “We were all having such a great time. We packed so much into ten days. Speaking on behalf of the choir, our best performance was at St Peter’s Basilica, where Nick Drabik was the organist and the choir sang beautifully. Overall, with the chance to perform in unbelievably beautiful settings you could see the progression of both the orchestra and the choir to perform at their best levels. Every group of students stepped up to a higher level in the musical aspect. The trip also enhanced their cultural awareness, for instance the chance to see Michelangelo’s David.”

He observed that the trip allowed for each student to work cooperatively with others. Upper classmen worked together with younger students from the group. In addition, the Newtown students also worked with music students from Conard High School in West Hartford to perform a joint concert in Florence as part of the 2006 American Celebration of Music in Italy.

“This was a really healthy endeavor for our music program. It was a lot of work but the rewards more than outweighed the work,” Mr Harned said.

Senior Jeremy Hodge who participates in the chorus, band, and orchestra, thoroughly enjoyed his tour of Italy. Jeremy, who will attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City in the fall, said the chance to perform in huge cathedrals with state-of-the-art acoustics was wonderful. Nemi, a small picturesque village outside of Rome was Jeremy’s favorite location visited while on the tour. “It was a beautiful little town, with narrow streets and very friendly people. We performed in a church there and it was not a touristy spot. It gave you a flavor of what Italy is really like,” Jeremy said.

Amy Kopchik, who plays both clarinet and base clarinet, said that the tour was “fantastic.” She credited Ms Hiscavich with providing the Newtown students with such a successful trip. “She is the most organized woman I have ever known. She never slept; she took care of everything so that we could have a wonderful experience. She also kept us motivated,” Amy said.

Amy is a senior who will attend Gettysburg College in the fall, majoring in history. “I cried when I saw the Colosseum because that’s what I’m majoring in, ancient history. The size was overwhelming,” she said.

Senior choral student, Angela Viesto stated that it was her first time visiting Italy and her favorite place visited was the small village of Nemi. Angela said she was so taken with Italy that her family is planning a trip there within the next two years. Angela will be attending Southern Connecticut State University this fall as a pre-vet major.

Samantha Mitchell, a senior from the chorus group, stated that her trip to Italy was something she will always remember. “I’ve never been overseas and I was overwhelmed there was so much to take in and see. We had the most unbelievable weather, 65 degrees and sunny everyday. It could not have been a better trip. We shared the same venues with the orchestra and we got to listen to what they were doing and appreciate it. The audiences were really wonderful,” Samantha said.

Alicia Tolson, a senior chorus member, will be attending the University of Central Florida this fall, majoring in technical theater and focusing on stage management. Alicia said the trip to Italy was everything she expected and more. “Everything was so beautiful. There were endless photo opportunities,” she said. Alicia reminisced about sitting on a café porch, eating lunch with the Colosseum as the backdrop to the view.

The chorus performed in St Peter’s Basilica and Alicia felt that was the best performance experience. “Singing there was indescribable,” she said. The return trip encompassed 24 hours of travel but Alicia said, “It was worth every minute, every penny.”

Parent Linda Jones, who has a daughter Lindsey who plays violin in the orchestra, traveled with the group and commented, “It was a terrific trip, incredibly busy and it gave me a whole new perspective on what it is like for musicians to perform on a tour. Their first performance was in a little town of Nemi. I thought the group performed amazingly well, above my expectations. The people from Nemi came from all over and filled the church for the performance. They truly adored our children and the kids got such joy from that. It was so special.”