REV’s Band and Choir go to San Francisco

By VINCENT GALVAN

Last year, in the 2016-17 school year, Redlands East Valley’s band performed at Disneyland for the Anaheim Heritage Festival and won first place. As a result of the win, REV’s band was invited to more festivals this year, one of them being the San Francisco Festival of Gold in early April. The groups that were invited to perform at San Francisco were those that received high scores in their performances from prestigious festivals throughout the country. Looking back at previous records, REV’s choir saw that it, too, scored high in one of the past years and was permitted to accompany the band and compete with other choir groups.

“Walking the Golden Gate Bridge was an incredibly satisfying experience!”

-Nga Nguyen, junior

In San Francisco, the band and choir explored the city. On their day of arrival, the group checked in at the Marriott Marquis and explored around the hotel. The students went up to the viewpoint to admire the city and spent time enjoying hotel amenities together. The groups also enjoyed spending time around Fisherman’s Wharf and eating at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

“I liked taking cool pictures” and “playing in Davies Symphony Hall was a truly beautiful experience that will stay in our memories.”

-Renée Shantler, junior

Both groups also enjoyed going to the San Francisco Zoo, where they got to see animals native to California and those from around the world such as tigers, rhinos and giraffes. Taking the trolley was also a fun experience because it allowed the group to get a view of the beautiful city. A highlight of the trip was that the group went to the famous Golden Gate Bridge, where those who felt daring walked across the entire 1.7-mile bridge and marveled at the beautiful scenery.

“A trip to remember . . . it was blast and great way to end my senior year in choir”

-Raeanna Arzaga, senior

While in San Francisco, the band and choir also rehearsed and went through musical clinics to get ready to perform at Davies Symphony Hall, a prestigious opera house. The theme of the venue was to honor Vietnam War veterans. The band performed three songs: “God of our Fathers,” “Epinicion” and “America the Beautiful.” The choir performed four songs: “Esto Les Digo,” “Il Est Bel et Bon,” “Kruhay,” and “He Never Failed Me Yet.” To end the performance, the REV band was chosen to close the ceremony with selected musical pieces. After the performance, the band and choir got another superior score to take back home with them. The trip to San Francisco was an unforgettable experience to many of the musicians.