Sounds & Images of #NYNouveau

How to order Official Carnegie Hall & Times Square Photos!

 Group Photos, Inc. was our official photographer for the "New York Nouveau" concert.  They also did a DGN and a DGS group shot in Times Square.

Below you will find a link to order photos.  Please note the "shopping cart tip." Avoid clicking on "continue shopping," but rather use the back-button on your browser as you add multiple images to your order.

Please note that there are seven different galleries on the initial page to help guide your shopping. Within each band's page you will find a "Stage Group Photo."  This is the one you want to order if you would like the formal/staged picture of the entire band.  There are also "Stage Performing" photos taken from long range, as well as "Close Ups" of each performing ensemble.

If you have any issues navigating the site, or have any questions about placing an order, the company has asked that you contact them directly.  1(800) GROUP PHOTO, (212) 262-8611.  Or kevin@groupphotos.com.






How to order ...

All Carnegie Hall and Times Square group photos are online here: http://www.groupphotos.com/t/categories/private/carnegie-hall/2015/march/030215

The password is: 030215

Shopping cart tip:  After adding a photo to the shopping cart, do not click on "continue shopping" as this will take you to the homepage.

Instead, click your web browser's "back" button twice to return to the gallery of photos that you just left.

DGS Wind Symphony backstage Carnegie Hall just prior to performing @DGS Bands NYC 2015

Sometimes, words are better than pictures.  Then, there is a picture like this one.......

Updated Arrival Time @DGS Bands NYC 2015

Updated ETA between 6:30-7:00 pm.

Travel update @DGS Bands NYC 2015

TRAVEL UPDATE:  We are about to stop for a stretch and breakfast break outside of Pittsburgh, PA.  We've decided to divert our travel route to south to avoid hazardous traveling conditions.  Our arrival time will be delayed.  As soon as we have a solid ETA in Downers Grove, we'll communicate our new plans.   Thanks for your understanding and flexibility.  The decision to take the safest route home is the over-riding factor in our plans.

How do you recap an experience like this?

I now have the opportunity to recapitulate briefly about an experience I'm not sure I comprehend the depth and breadth of yet.  As the daylight begins to gradually illuminate the sky, I'll take these moments to share what I've been able to wrap my brain around after an amazingly comfortable evening of rest on these deluxe coach bus seats.

CURRENT STUDENTS
I'm so proud of our current students for how they played as artists on this tour, and, for how the lived out their roles as ambassadors to our school and community.  Numerous tour guides, bus drivers and wait staff sought me out on this tour to tell me how exceptionally behaved are our students.  Professors at Ithaca College remarked on their engagement as while listening and while rehearsing.  Everyone was on time for every aspect of the tour without exception.  I know that thinking about traveling with 350 students can make some people cringe, but this was literally a joyful experience because of how our students deported themselves during the tour.

COLLABORATION
The collaborative nature of this tour was a massive public display of a core belief of our instrumental music team - we are able to achieve far more corporately than we can individually.  Sharing this experience with the students and staff from across town created a sense of excitement and purpose with every activity, but especially with the music making.

I'd be remiss at this point if I didn't fully acknowledge the vision for group travel cast by my colleague, Brayer Teague.  Even though the nature of this trip was highly collaborative, a tour still has to have a pont-person.  As a tour coordinator, Mr. Teague is unrivaled.  His grace and ability to plan well under pressure is unmatched.  We thank our crosstown colleagues for sharing this experience with us, but we send a special note of gratitude on behalf of all of our students to Mr. Teague for his imprint on this experience.

FORMER STUDENTS AND PAST CONNECTIONS
Being able to share the stage with DGS alums Lauren Wood and Ian Williams was humbling and gratifying.  Hearing them perform and where they are as artists and people was both musically and personally enriching.  Seeing them interact with our current students illuminates a longitudinal connectivity that is special in the music industry.  We are so proud of Ian and Lauren as people and as artists.

For me personally, I was able to reconnect with several former students, and, with former colleagues.  A trombone section mate of mine from the 1984 Walt Disney World All-American College Marching Band is currently an archival librarian at Carnegie Hall.  I got to spend about 45 minutes with Rob as he told me about all the cool projects his is working on to preserve the history of this iconic American performance venue.  Even after 30 years, our connection was strong because of the music making experience we shared one summer.

BEING A PART OF A EXPANSIVE MUSICAL HISTORY (and amazing acoustics)
The sonic experience playing on the stage at Carnegie was indescribable.  As a performer, I heard things with a clarity I've not experience previously, which allowed me to listen and lock in with the artists around me.  Conducting on the stage was pure elation.  The perspective looking out and upward was humbling, the look of the faces of the student musicians was inspiring.  Walking around the hall, seeing the posters and pictures from the history of the hall is both humbling and daunting.  The artists that have played in the same I hold in very high regard, almost in an untouchable category.   Having a shared experience with those artists on the historical performance continuum is extremely humbling and a tremendous honor.

Thanks to every family that contributed to this tour, and, for sharing your students with us and for preparing them to be functional young adults.  Special shout-out to our chaperone team for "putting on a happy face" through all the changes during the course of the tour, and, for shepherding our students so well. Personally, it was great to get to know these amazing people and parents on a deeper level through the tour experience.  Finally, we thank our district, school and community for affirming what group travel brings to students by supporting this experience.  We are fortunate to live and work in a learning community that values the complex nature of what an arts education provides for students.

Only one more day............

We engage in group travel for many reasons.  We believe that group travel expands learning boundaries in amazing ways for students, and we believe that group travel provides a singularly unique pathway for individual growth for every student.

Today, our students learned about this great city from bus guide tour docents and from a fabulous boat tour docents.  Today, our students set foot in one of the most amazing places on earth, Times Square.  Today, our students experienced artistic performance at the highest level, experiencing a show on Broadway.  Today, our students were amazing ambassadors in every possible way for their community, their schools and their families.  Experiences expanded boundaries, individual growth occurred with each and every autonomous decision made during the course of the day.

Tomorrow, we play in Carnegie Hall, but for today, we all learned and grew in unique and remarkable ways.

Memorable day in New York City

In a typical blog post, I'll use more pictures than words, letting the images tell the story of an event.  For this post, I'll use more words than pictures to try and lend a description that provides clarity to the events of the day.

Before I describe the day, I need to describe the students musicians with whom we have the privilege of traveling.  We are moving with a group of 350 students and 7 coaches and have left every departure point in a timely manner.  Tour guides, bus drivers and restaurant staff continue to tell us how impressed they are with the behavior of the students.  Our guide at Radio City Music Hall told us we were her favorite group of the day, maybe of the month.  The students are respectful and engaged while still having a great time.  We are so proud and fortunate to travel with these students.

Now, a bit about the experiences today.

Today was about an experiential spectrum with significant width.  We started our morning at the 9-11 Museum.  The depth of the human condition as exposed in this horrific tragedy was significant.  We ended our evening hearing the New York Philharmonic performing Brahm's Second Symphony, which ends in a D major triad played by the trombones that exposes the depth of jubilation in the human condition.  We were at the Top of The Rock, we were at the level of the street  We experienced some chilly temperatures outside, we experienced some warm tours and meals.  The depth and breadth of the spectrum of experiences today, even for this seasoned traveler, was significant.

Tomorrow, we will tour by bus and boat and experience a Broadway show followed by a group dinner on Times Square.  The trajectory of the tour continues to point us towards Monday evening, where we will practice and perform in Carnegie Hall, but for now, we are expanding our boundaries by experiencing some of the most amazing things this remarkable city has to offer.

Great day at Ithaca College @dgsbandsnyc15 #NYNouveau

District 99 students experienced an amazing day of hospitality and musical growth at Ithaca College today.  After arriving to a delicious Panera breakfast and a freshen up stop at the world class IC Athletic Complex, students transitioned to the music building and experienced a 70 minute clinic with Ithaca College faculty including  Dr. Steve Peterson, Dr. Elizabeth Peterson and Dr. Mark Fonder;  students took a 45 minute campus tour of Ithaca College, gaining experience and insight into the college experience;  students observed a convocation recital featuring a student saxophone quartet, the IC Faculty Brass Quintet, and the IC Trombone Choir.  Finally, students enjoyed lunch in the IC cafeteria, enjoying some of the finest collegiate cuisine available.

Special thanks and shout-out to our hosts and organizers Steve and Beth Peterson, the IC tour guides, the IC music ed students, and the rest of the campus for extending the warmest hospitality imaginable.  Even on a cold day we all felt warm and welcome!

Now that we are back on the road, we will have a stop at a mall food court for dinner and then proceed to our  hotel in New Jersey, where we will all get a great night of rest to prepare for the coming three days in the city that never sleeps.