Student musicians in choir, orchestra and band at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington swept through the Windy City last month to compete in the 2023 WorldStrides National Heritage Festival. While in Chicago, the group experienced the sights including an architecture tour by boat, the Navy Pier, the “Cloud Gate” sculpture and — the one thing no Chicago trip is complete without — deep dish pizza from Giordano’s. Students attended a performance of “Grease” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook.
“I enjoyed the show more than I expected,” said sophomore Andrew Cobb, who also had the opportunity to speak with one of the technician directors after the show.
At the same time, members of the orchestra and band attended a concert by the Chicago Symphony. “The program was beautiful and very impressive,” said Gregory de Dios, a member of the senior orchestra.
The main reason for the trip took place with three choir ensembles competing including, the combined choir (made up of girls and boys), the chamber choir, and the women’s camerata. Instrumental ensembles included string orchestra, the symphonic band and the jazz band.
The climax of the trip was the presentation of the awards, which took place following dinner at the Medieval Times venue. O’Connell walked away with a first-place ranking for all three choir ensembles, and a second-place ranking for the string orchestra. The choir won the Choral Sweepstakes award for having at least two ensembles with a combined score closest to a perfect 200. The string orchestra received the Adjudicator Award for having an average score of 92. Along with these many ensemble awards, two students in the women’s camerata received an individual Maestro Award from the judges for displaying excellent musical ability: sophomore pianist, Lisa Zhao, who was as an accompaniment of the choir ensembles, and freshman Kennedy Burt for her solo in the camerata’s performance of “Colors of the Wind.”
To top off, O’Connell also received the Festival Sweepstakes Award, given to a school that enters at least one choral ensemble, one instrumental ensemble, and a third ensemble of either discipline, and accumulates a score closest to a perfect 300.
“The success of the music trip to Chicago is a testament to the dedication and talent of our students, as well as the hard work and organization of the Fine Arts Boosters,” said Timothy LaCrosse, fine arts department chair. “We are all incredibly proud of the students’ outstanding performances and the recognition they received from the panel of judges, and at the same time, we couldn’t be more grateful for the support of our booster organization.”
Before departing Chicago, the O’Connell group attended Mass at the historic Holy Name Cathedral where the pastor, Father Gregory Sakowicz, recognized the group and their achievements. Some of the students presented the offertory gifts at the Mass.
