The Becker High School 11th/12th grade band and choir members traveled to New York City,  March 23-28 and came home with spectacular memories, educational opportunities and a new appreciation for culture. One hundred and seventeen students — along with 13 chaperones and Band Directors Gretchen Bordson and Greg Vogl attended the trip.  The students and adults traveled by three coach buses and departed March 23 at 1:45 p.m.

 

Along their trip, they stopped numerous times for breakfasts, lunches and inners and eventually arrived in NYC March 24 and checked into their hotels. That evening, they went sightseeing and their first stop was the Empire State Building.

 

The next day, the groups attended a 90-minute Broadway workshop led by cast members  of the Phantom of the Opera play they were to see later that evening. They then walked through Central Park where they posed for numerous photos amongst the landmarks. A few hours later, they went to the South Street Seaport and held a band performance in Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.

 

In the evening, they attended the Broadway show, Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre.

 

Sunday, they took in a little Chinatown and Little Italy and enjoyed some shopping and lunch there. At 3 p.m., they visited the 911 Memorial Museum site and at 6 p.m., were part of a DJ Dinner Cruise under the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges and viewing the Statue of Liberty from the cruise deck. The guests enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet and danced the night away with their friends.

 

Monday, they checked out of their hotel and loaded their luggage aboard the giant transport buses. They began the final day being in the audience of the Today Show. At around 8:45 a.m., the students broke up into groups for a tour of Radio City Music Hall where they saw where the Grammys and Tony’s awards shows are held each year. They also had a  picture taken with one of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. Still energized, the students visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral and did some shopping.

 

At 1:15 p.m., the kids gathered for a St. John’s the Divine choir 30-minute  performance. From there, they visited Times Square for last-minute shopping before the buses headed for home.