On Wednesday, March 15, the Music Department took Marmion and Rosary students on a field trip to Chicago.

Students attended a performance of Bizet’s opera “Carmen” at the Chicago Lyric Opera House. For many students this was their first opera experience. Marmion principal, Mr. Joseph Large accompanied the students and parents and it was also his first opera.

The melodies in “Carmen” are easily recognizable and many students were surprised at how much of the music in the production they’ve heard in movie soundtracks, commercials and popular culture.

The production was sung entirely in French but the students and parents were able to follow the tunes and plot because there was a screen above the stage that projected the text in English.

Two weeks prior to the field trip, the band students spent a three-day workshop with artists-in-residence on the Marmion campus. One of our artists was trombonist Reed Capshaw and it turns out he was hired to play trombone in the production we attended. He invited students to come down to the orchestra pit and say hello. It was a great experience for our students who got to see some of the production “behind the scenes” and from the musicians point of view.

 

At the Christmas Concert this past December, the Wind Ensemble performed Greek Folk Song Suite by Ceasarini. The suite was based on three Greek songs and each one had its own story. The band explored the background of these stories and certain aspects of Greek culture that enhanced our understanding and gave greater depth to our students performance.

As a continuation of that experience, before the opera, all students and parents went to lunch at Greek Islands restaurant in Chicago. We were treated to saganaki, melitzanosalata, sliced roast leg of lamb, chicken riganati, gyros with tzatziki, kontosouvli and Greek salad. For dessert, we sampled  baklava, galactobouriko (baked lemon orange custard), and karidopita (walnut cake).

 

Thank you to Mrs. Amy Denault who captured this great picture of group on the first level of the opera house.