Students in Wind Ensemble traveled to Quebec, Montreal and Boston to learn about music and music education outside of Los Angeles and to gain more experience playing together as a group April 2-9.

Because this is the first trip in the history of Wind Ensemble, the musicians said they were tasked with the responsibility of setting a precedent while on the trip so the ensemble could continue to take trips in the future.

Oboe player Henry DiNapoli ’17 said the purpose of the trip was to let the musicians have the experience of playing on tour.

“I felt like it helped the whole band learn how to adjust to the situation that is given,” DiNapoli said. “Some things weren’t planned, but we kept going and adjusted really well.”

The ensemble had to rehearse on weekends before spring break to prepare for the trip and had to perform for multiple days in a row.

Trombone player Jason Santillan ’17 said he had never been to Canada before and appreciated the opportunity to better understand the Canadian way of life.

“A few of my friends and I went out to explore the area after we got to the hotel, and we had a blast just trying to walk through the deep layers of snow,” Santillan said. “I had never seen snow before that; it was a totally new experience to me.”

Performing arts teacher Shawn Costantino said he is grateful that the group had the experience of getting to see some other ensembles perform and gain some performance experience themselves in order to improve and grow as musicians.

“They now have seen some really advanced groups, and now our goal is to push our band to those types of levels so that the Wind Ensemble can achieve that for itself,” Costantino said.