On April 26th, Park Center Senior High’s Symphony Orchestra class was waking up early to get onto a bus to go on a tour to Chicago. Under the direction of Ms. Gagnon, sixteen students and two supervisors, the Symphony Orchestra planned the trip. After several fundraisers and payments, the class was on their way to "The Windy City."

But what kind of trip would it be if the class didn’t play their instruments? With their first stop at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, the students played several songs while many people toured the capitol’s gorgeous wall paintings and the beautiful architecture that was the State Capitol; a woman even wanted her wedding pictures taken in the building. After a delightful performance, the students and the supervisors sat in front of the building to take one of the many group pictures to come in this once-in-a-lifetime trip. After a long bus ride from Madison, the group finally arrived at Chicago. As they approached the city, all of the orchestra stared in awe at the gigantic city and laughed at all of the hilarious signs. When they finally arrived at their destination, Navy Pier, it was evident on why Chicago was deemed the title “The Windy City.” Being blown around right outside of Navy Pier, they all bustled inside the building. Walking along the pier, tons of local stores, food chains and city products adorned the pier and one could not help but gaze into the stores wondering what kind of tourist-type of merchandise to purchase. One group stopped at a restaurant called Billy Goat. Their famous slogan, “Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger. No Fries – Chips”, helped the students know what they’re in for. Many famous people, especially politicians, come into Billy Goat, like George Bush, Sr. and Hilary Rodham Clinton.

After dinner, the class headed to Symphony Center, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. After all, this was a learning experience. The class had a chance to hear a Pre-Concert Lecture that explained the music for the night’s performance in detail. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra played some fabulous pieces, including Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. Symphonie Fantastique was a story about a man infatuated with a woman. He tries to kill himself by overdosing on drugs, but becomes intoxicated and dreams terrible dreams. After the concert, the class got to meet one of the bassist in the orchestra, Bradley Opland, who actually graduated from Park Center in the seventies. In fact, he went to Fair Oaks Elementary, Brooklyn Junior High, and Park Center Senior High. He told the students of his involvement in a local orchestra called the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony and how, at age 18, he was accepted into the Minnesota Orchestra as their principal bassist. In 1984, Bradley was accepted into the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and has been with them ever since. After the concert and the meeting, the orchestra retired to their hotel in Schaumburg, a city just on the outskirts of Chicago.

The next day, the orchestra headed out to the city again, this time to visit the Field Museum of Natural History. This museum has many great artifacts and displays, but one of the most famous is Sue, the largest most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex that was discovered. After exploring the museum and all it had to offer, the class performed right next to Sue while many people sat and listened to them. After the museum was lunch at the famous Rock n’ Roll McDonalds, which holds some great memorabilia, and next was a Gangster Tour. The tour was extremely interesting, for it was about the lives and the stories of all the famous gangsters that occupied Chicago, specifically Al Capone and his rule of the South Side. Our bus drove along the streets and we all got to see where many famous gangsters died and where many bloody fights occurred; we even got to see the Harpo Studios! After the tour, the class got to relax for a while at the hotel, then departed to Medieval Times, a dinner and tournament show. We were fed a four-course meal that included a lot of great food, while we watched and supported our knight as he battled the other knights. It was very exciting to see these actors and actress perform a story about the Medieval Times.

The next day was departure from Chicago, and the class headed to Middleton, Wisconsin to perform for a high school orchestra. In turn for us playing, we got a short tour of the school and the stage, and their class performed for us, too. We also got to sight-read a song with them. Then it was time to go home. The Symphony Orchestra class had a great time in Chicago, and has many memories that will last a lifetime!

Written by: Jennifer Sicheneder

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Park Center Senior High’s
Symphony Orchestra trip to Chicago.