Last weekend, the North High band accompanied the Northeast Middle band on a trip to Chicago. This was the first time in three years that either program has gone on an out-of-state band trip.

Traditionally, only the eighth graders go to Chicago, but the high school band was invited to give underclassmen an opportunity to go on a trip since trips had been canceled the last few years.
“It was awesome. It was a super fun experience to see Chicago but to also work with a clinician,” said freshmen Dakota Tritinger. The point of the trip was a clinic at the Vandercook College of Music, where the group played a piece and received feedback to make it better going into the band’s next concert.
The trip wasn’t always smooth sailing. On the way to the hotel, the high schooler’s bus broke down about half an hour outside of Chicago.
“It was definitely inconvenient, but I think we handled it well. I think the only downside was the lack of sleep,” said junior Jack Finley.
Most students tried their best to keep themselves entertained while they waited for the bus to be repaired and to be able to arrive at their destination.
“I threw a tennis ball around with my friends while we were broken down, I saw a lot of other people taking photos and videos, some people were sleeping on the ground, too,” said sophomore Jerimiah Barnes. The band ultimately arrived at the hotel at 12:20 am, leading to a lack of sleep going into an early morning start.
The following day, students had to be ready to go on the bus at 7 a.m. to enter Chicago to perform in the clinic at Vandercook.
“That morning was brutal, I’m used to staying up late but not being able to sleep in my own bed made it hard to actually fall asleep,” said senior Isaac Shepard.
While the focus of the trip was performing, students went around the city to see popular sight-seeing attractions including Watertower Place, Millenium Park and “The Blue Man Group”. Topping off the Chicago trip was dinner at a city classic “Gino’s East Pizza.”
“I really enjoyed Gino’s on the last day, the pizza there is just super good,” said freshmen Dakota Tritinger. One of the defining characteristics of the pizzeria is the massive amount of graffiti on the walls, tables and even chairs. Students were provided markers to make their own artwork and signatures which will remain on the walls for years to come.
Students arrived back at North late Saturday night. This trip marks the return to fun traditions to be had yearly after the easing of district Covid restrictions, allowing activities like field trips to resume.