This year, the symphonic band and wind ensemble were given the opportunity to travel to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall. Though the main purpose of the trip was to perform, Amador kids also had the opportunity to explore the sprawling urban city.

“My favorite part was how many places we got to visit. We went to lots of places like Central Park,[Museum of Modern Art], Rockefeller Center, and Times Square. I don’t really know how it differed because I haven’t been to San Francisco in a while, but [New York] is bigger. [To future students,] I would [also] say be kind to your chaperones because they are doing a lot,” said Shruti Pradeep (‘24).

Because New York is over a five-hour flight from San Francisco, it was many students’ first time visiting the city.

“I honestly think that it was one of the best experiences of my life, and it was just overall a really nice experience to be in New York. It was my first time there, and it was like that for a lot of people, so it was just overall a really nice experience,” said Adi Lankipalle (‘23).

Despite taking a lot of time sightseeing, many students were also fascinated by the opportunity of performing at Carnegie Hall, a performance they have been preparing for.

“I think that we did very well considering we had Wind II and Wind I combined, and for the amount of rehearsals we had. So, I think that our final performance was pretty good. There were a few things that could have been better, but it was good,” said Dean Eggers (‘23).

Though there were a few rules to abide by, such as timings and staying together when traveling from one destination to another, the students were able to obtain a sense of independence.

“We had a pretty decent amount of freedom. We had free time in the evening, and [the only rule] was to stay within 4 blocks for dinner. Obviously, they told us where we could and couldn’t go, but we had a decent amount of freedom when it came to what we wanted to do. There was an itinerary which told [the students] how long they were allowed to stay, but there was no strict rule as to where we wanted to go within those places,” said Lankipalle (‘23).

One of the highlights of the trips for many students was the cruise in which they were able to watch the entire sunset while seeing the coastline of New York City.

“On the last night, we had a dinner night cruise, and it was really awesome. It was a sunset cruise, past the Brooklyn Bridge and in between New York and New Jersey, and [through the cruise] we were able to see the Statue of Liberty at night, and it was really cool” said Lankipalle.