Over winter break, our very own Normal Marching Band crossed the pond for London, England.
The long awaited trip was a highlight for the entire Normal West music department.
The band played in London’s New Year’s Eve parade and in other concert venues.
The parade offered rainy and cold conditions, but the band marched on doing well and ended up having a really successful performance.
“It’s overwhelming. I think what we were feeling the rain. It was really rainy that day, and it was cold and windy, and it’s interesting that sometimes adverse conditions like that help you rise to an occasion and the adrenaline certainly from all the folks along the parade route and in the grandstands made for really an electric experience in the city, as we were celebrating the new year,” Band director Ryan Budzinski said.
The band also had groups perform in other performances, additionally to the parade, which offered another unique experience for the students to remember.
“We had a group of musicians participate in a Gala Concert Series, where they performed with some other ensembles in a concert venue, and that was really an exceptional experience,” Budzinski added.
The band also did all of the “touristy” things in London, so having the opportunity to go and experience England was a big part of the experience as well as the performing.
“We had the opportunity to see different parts of the city: Parliament square and Big Ben… Buckingham Palace and tours to Windsor and Hampton Court Palace, so a lot of London royalty sites,” Budzinski added.
The band brought a total number of 100 students and 200 total travelers, which only made this trip a bigger of a deal due to the sheer size and logistics that had to take place to be successful in a foreign country.
However, just as the Normal Marching Band has been successful in competition, they did not let this opportunity’s challenges get in the way.
In fact, they used the success of past and present Wildcat/Ironmen to pave their way.
“It’s important to acknowledge that opportunities like this are part of a tradition of excellence and a history that goes back a really long time, so there are student performers that have walked the halls of Normal West and Normal Community whose hard work has made a performance like this possible and then the performers that went on this trip will open up doors for future generations of Wildcats and Ironmen to have similar opportunities and really share what we do with folks not just in our community but internationally and and around the world,” Budzinski noted.
