Penn Choir, Orchestra students visit New York City

Penn High School Orchestra and Choir students visited New York City during Spring Break for an amazing array of experiences.

A PHOTO GALLERY IS POSTED BELOW

CHOIR TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:

• Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Liberty Island
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Freedom Tower (up to 102nd floor)
• Times Square
• Broadway show – Hadestown
• Broadway show – MJ the Musical
• Broadway cast dinner with members from MJ the Musical
• Chinatown/Little Italy
• Commissioned N.Y. Composer Rich Campbell to write music for us
• Workshopped with Rich Campbell at our hotel and then he was present for the performance
• Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Central Park
• Dinner/Dance Cruise
• Ellen’s Stardust Diner

According to Penn Choir instructor Andrew Nemeth, the Broadway cast dinner was absolutely a highlight for students. Cast members from MJ met Penn students for dinner and were able to speak with them about their journey to Broadway. One member,Apollo LeVine, is a graduate of Washington High School in South Bend. He was absolutely humbled to meet people from his hometown, and he even made a social media post about Penn students.

Part of the purpose of the Choir trip was to perform at St. John the Divine in Manhattan, the sixth largest church in the world. Nemeth and fellow Penn Choir instructor Allison Secaur visited the church in 2019 in anticipation of a 2020 trip, but that trip finally took place now. Students worked with composer Rich Campbell, who was commissioned to write a song specifically for Penn Choir. View the performance on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6vsPSqEbM

There was an earthquake that struck in New Jersey shorty before our performance. Our students did not feel it, but there were aftershocks occurring while the Penn Choir was performing. Everyone was safe. In the recording on YouTube, you can hear the alarms going off every few minutes.

Lastly of note was Ellen’s Stardust Diner – this is an incredible dining experience where the servers are aspiring Broadway actors. In the last two months alone they had 35 members that finally made it to Broadway. It was an incredibly unique experience for Penn students.

ORCHESTRA TRIP HIGHLIGHTS:

• Lady Liberty
• Battery Park
• Statue of Liberty
• Ellis Island
• Charging Bull Photo Op
• 9/11 Memorial
• The Oculus
• Radio City Tour
• Dinner at Dizzy’s Club
• Dizzy’s Early Set
• Museum of Modern Art
• Bryant Park
• New York Public Library
• Grand Central Station
• Gayle’s Broadway Rose
• Broadway Show: The Lion King
• Central Park
• The Met Museum
• Stella 34 Trattoria
• New York Philharmonic workshop
• The Met Opera: La Rondine

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