The Busch Gardens trip is when all of the performing arts students travel to Williamsburg, Virginia, and compete against other Mid-Atlantic schools. The Symphonic Rock Orchestra (SRO), the Jazz Band, and the Acapella Club represented St. Andrew’s in the competition this year. The Jazz Band, led by Dr. Amy Wooley, cruised to a superior rating and a first-place finish in their category. The SRO, also led by Dr. Wooley, received a high excellent rating, and also finished in first place in their category. The Acapella Club, led by Mr. Jordan Yonce, received a first place in their category, for the first time ever. It was one of the best showings of St. Andrew’s at Busch Gardens in recent years.
The innumerable members of the three bands packed their equipment onto the bus early Friday morning, and took off for Williamsburg. The next four hours consisted of karaoke from some of the more enthusiastic members of the Acapella Club and an hour-long stop at Starbucks. Finally, SAES arrived at Tabb High School in Yorktown, Virginia, where the competition took place. The Acapella Club performed first. They performed “Hold Back the River”, by James Bay, and “Rather Be”, by Clean Bandit, which featured solos from some of the group members. Afterwards, the SRO performed three songs. They performed “True Colors”, by Cyndi Lauper, “Demons”, by Imagine Dragons, and “Don’t Stop Believing”, by Journey. SRO trombonist Colin Hendrie wrote the arrangement for “Demons”. Finally, the Jazz Band performed three of their original songs. Solos from their performances included Jack Tsintolas on the guitar, Spencer Marks on the piano, Tristan Chen on the saxophone, and Olivia Oosterhout on the bass. After the performance the kids checked into their hotel and then walked around Williamsburg for the rest of the night.
The next morning, the kids piled onto the bus, and took off for Busch Gardens. They spent the entire day riding on the Griffon or the Verbolten, eating at the food court, or playing games at the arcade where one kid won a pair of Beats Headphones. It was cold and rainy, which made the day a little less fun. However, that meant that there were fewer people, so the kids had much more time to go on the rides. Overall, the day was a lot of fun for everyone.
Finally, after a fun-filled day, all of the schools gathered for the awards ceremony. After sitting through the marching band awards, it was time to announce the vocal awards. St. Andrew’s received first place in the Acapella category, and junior LJ Jackson and freshman Ashley Webb received soloist awards. Then it was time for the instrumental awards. The SRO got a high excellent rating, and came in first place in their category. In addition, Colin Hendrie got an outstanding musician award, Sam Seymour got a soloist award, and the brass section, consisting of Will Atwood, Jacob White, and Colin Hendrie, received an award. The Jazz Band received a superior rating, and the four soloists received soloist awards, as well as an award for the saxophone section. Overall, St. Andrew’s won 12 awards. It was a well-deserved result for these hardworking bands. It was a fun and successful trip for the performing arts students at St. Andrew’s.