“Shawn (Lenney, Madison’s band director) has this trip worked out to a science,” said Madison teacher/chaperone Joel Brown. “There was nothing as emotionally stirring for me, during the trip, as when our band was playing the Star Spangled Banner in front of the Statue of Liberty.”
The group saw the “Spiderman” musical, toured Radio City Music Hall and visited Times Square and Central Park. The only snag in the itinerary came when NYC traffic put the band two hours behind schedule. After dining at SPQR in Little Italy, the group saved time by leaving the buses and hopping on the subway for a quick jaunt to Carnegie Hall to watch a concert of music composed by John Williams.
The group also got to meet with New York Pops conductor and music director Steve Reineke, who is a friend of Lenney’s from their Miami University days together.
“The reward for this trip is worth all the hassle, because the kids get to have so many cool experiences and see so many historical things that they have seen on TV and read about. The kids on this particular trip where absolutely amazing and adapted to our ever-changing schedule better than any group I have ever traveled with,” Lenney said.
Lenney has taken 14 groups of band students on similar trips. This was his second trip with Madison High. Two years ago, the band headed to Epcot Center and Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Band members in the New York trip participated in two years of fundraising in order to pay for the trip.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
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