Musical Ensembles Shine in Hershey, PA

Anyone who has been lucky enough to catch a performance by one of Eastchester’s secondary school music ensembles knows full well just how talented our student-musicians are. Over the last two weekends, orchestras, bands and choirs from both EHS and EMS took their show on the road, garnering rave reviews at the “Music in the Parks” series in Hershey, PA.

Eastchester High School groups—which have been participating in the Music in the Parks series for roughly seven years—headed down to Hershey on May 29, bringing a full complement of musicians to take part in the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Mixed Choir and Orchestra competitions, while the Middle School ensembles followed suit just a week later.

Music Department Chair Mark Dodge said that the performing arts trips to Hershey have been a staple of the program over the years, in part because they serve both as a unique opportunity to spend time with other high school ensembles in competitive settings, and as an end-of-year activity that celebrates and strengthens the department. 

“It’s a great bonding experience for the kids, particularly at the high school level because we take the entire department; so it builds community,” said Dodge. “The comments and insights from the judges are so helpful. And depending on our schedules, the kids get a chance to listen to performances from other high school groups, which can be inspiring and confirms the fact that we do play very well.”

The high school groups picked up two first-place finishes, one in Concert Band, the other in Mixed Choir, while12th grader Chihoko Saito won Outstanding Accompanist for the third year in a row. The EMS 8th Grade Band and a cappella group Notable also came away with first-place overall finishes in their respective divisions on June 5.

EMS Choral Director Erin Bonner said that she knew heading into her groups’ competition that her singers had a chance to make a mark on the event, given their advanced musical aptitude.

“I think ‘Notable’ is a really nice way for kids to get exposed to different kinds of music. With this concert especially, we were leaning more towards pop and folk music,” said Bonner. “And because this is a club that meets after school, we have to learn things quickly; we meet once a week and the kids are able to learn things at a quicker pace that challenges them.” 

Bonner added that other EMS students have taken note of the success of both Notable and the eighth grade band, and hopes that that the wins in Hershey will generate some buzz surrounding middle school music offerings.

“A lot of these students have never been part of a music competition like this before and they didn’t realize that they could win a trophy just like their friends in athletics do,” said Bonner. “And this week, I’ve had other students—who don’t generally participate in our ensembles—come in, see the trophy and say ‘That’s really cool!”

Congratulations to our terrific musical ensembles for another strong showing!