Here’s to the Noted of Stanley-Boyd High!

Their trip to Nashville is coming on nigh!

Band and Choir this Spring will be, heading to Musicland—hey!

It’s finally official. After patiently waiting the customary number of standard bar measures (one road trip per every four years), the Stanley-Boyd music department will be departing to Nashville, Tennessee via Chicago, on a chartered bus service this coming March 8-12. With 66 students, 27 adults, and one tour director to round out the trip roster, final payments have been made and the itinerary is now in—and what an itinerary it is!

Beginning the day at 5:00 a.m. sharp on Sunday March 8, program members will board the bus for Chicago, arriving at 12:00 p.m. Students are asked to eat breakfast prior to early departure or else bring breakfast with them, although one hour is allotted for a “break and traffic” along the way. Meals not included in the trip are listed in the itinerary as “student cost.”

Once in Chicago, music group participants at Stanley-Boyd High School will take in the Navy Pier, Millenium Park, a sculpture called “Cloudgate,” and last but not least, 360 Chicago and Tilt at the John Hancock Center. In case you’re scratching your head on that last one, think about it like this: you step on a platform with up to seven other people, hold on to individual handlebars to steady yourself, and with the press of a button tilt out from the building you’re in to look down from 1,030 feet above the ground—with nothing but glass between you and the Uptown Chicago streets—we don’t quite know if we’d muster up the courage. Additionally, and while in Chicago, students will take in a performance at the Briar Street Theatre along with dinner and some well earned rest. After that, it’s on to Nashville!

Departing from Chicago at 8:00 a.m. sharp on Monday March 9, members of the Stanley-Boyd Band and Choir will ride nine-and-a half hours to Nashville, Tennessee, where they’ll enjoy a group dinner along with a group line dance lesson, then go to a hotel for some shut eye, before a full day to follow. At 8:30 a.m. sharp the next morning on Tuesday March 10, students will depart for Vanderbilt University, where they’ll participate in a University Clinic in two distinct groups, each group taking time to explore the campus while the other is in clinic. Afterwards, it’s back on the bus to head out for lunch and stop off at the Grand Ole Opry, backstage tour included. After a brief interlude at the mall for some “Shoppertainment,” it’s back to the Grand Ole Opry for a nighttime performance, with possible music genres including “country, bluegrass, comedy, gospel, and more” performed by different musicians, from the already famous to relative rookies just starting out in the music world.

After a night of rest followed by breakfast, participants will depart for RCA Studio B, where both the Stanley-Boyd Band and Choir will record, before heading to lunch at the Nashville Farmer’s Market, followed up with a visit to the Bicentennial Mall, and rounded out with a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame. While at the Bicentennial Mall, group participants will be able to view both “the walk of history and walk of counties,” along with “a 200 foot granite map of Tennessee,” and bell towers that play official Tennessee state songs (apparently there are several, which sounds appropriate). While at the Country Music Hall of Fame, students will be able to discover song writer’s history, with original song manuscripts and instruments both being on display, among other offerings.

Later on in the afternoon, students will tour the Belle Meade Plantation along with a guide. Belle Meade Plantation is said to be famous for breeding and training championship race horses in the late 19th century, but also offers a tour telling the story of slavery and the slaves who lived there in the past, as a way to honor them, according to the “Journey to Jubilee” tour listed on the website down at https://bellemeadeplantation.com.

After touring Belle Meade Plantation, group participants will head to Nissan Stadium to get a group photo, before exploring and regrouping at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville, then taking a 794 mile, 13½ hour bus ride home—not counting 1½ hours allotted for breakfast—and including a driver change. Group participants are scheduled to arrive back home on Thursday, March 12, which reminds us—we like pictures! Otherwise, have a safe trip and a great time. The trip sounds like a blast!