Over Thanksgiving break, students involved in the Alder marching band and choirs traveled to Philadelphia and New York City for a fun, exciting trip to exercise their musical talents in their respective fields. Students departed from the high school at approximately 11:00 pm Tuesday night and drove through the night. Students traveled with preassigned groups.

    They arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning and spent the day walking around the city and seeing famous landmarks such as the Liberty Bell. They finished out the first day with food, games and fun at Dave & Busters.

    November 24, also known as Thanksgiving Day, marching band members rose bright and early to march in the 2016 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade sponsored by 6ABC and Dunkin Donuts. The 1.4 mile parade route twisted through the streets of downtown Philadelphia. Although the parade was televised, the Alder band did not appear on television due to a commercial break. The parade ended the marching band season with a bang, and after the band completed the parade, the group set their sights for New York City. Upon arrival, they ate a grand Thanksgiving dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, and afterwards saw the city and took photos from the top of the Rockefeller building, or “Top of the Rock.”

    The next day, the group took a tour of the Radio City Music Hall, complete with meeting a Rockette and exploring the historic building. After the tour and a quick lunch, students and chaperones traveled to Saint John the Divine cathedral. Choir students then performed a small concert of songs they had prepared for chaperones, band students and anyone else in the building. Once the performance ended, students separated into their small groups and spent some time shopping before eating dinner at Planet Hollywood. After a fun-filled meal, students traveled back to the Radio City Music Hall to catch a performance of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes.

    The final day of the trip, students began the day at a master class with dancers and members of a Broadway show. Students had the option to attend one of two classes: one with members of On Your Feet or School of Rock. These classes included instruction from dancers in the show, and the members of the JA show choir got to perform their show for a member of the On Your Feet cast. This session also included a question and answer session. Groups then dispersed for lunch and then regathered to travel to the 9/11 Memorial. Students remembered the tragic day by walking around and viewing the memorial until they loaded the buses to go shopping and exploring in Soho, which was sophomore Alex Brost’s favorite activity on the trip, “I enjoyed the little trip we took around Soho. Seeing all the little shops was a great time.” The group then headed to the Hard Rock Café for an exciting meal full of dancing and fun. To end the trip in an unforgettable way, students and chaperones got to attend a Broadway show, either On Your Feet or School of Rock. The group then headed home, and arrived home at noon the following day.

    Junior Maddie Conley enjoyed the social aspect of the trip: “I loved being on bus one. Everyone was so fun: being surrounded by such happy people made the trip that much better!” Students returned to school on Monday wearing New York shirts and reminiscing about their favorite memories from the trip.