By Eli Karp 

Many students probably know that recently, on October 29, the band, orchestra and some of Mrs. Carnahan’s history students went on a trip to see Les Misérables, the musical, in the city. After hearing that the play had been brought back to Broadway, band director Ms. Montenegro suggested that the class go see it. It so happened that the band had been working on musical selections from Les Misérables and Mrs. Carnahan’s students had been studying the French Revolution. A special addition of the trip was the opportunity to have a private Q&A session with the stage manager and two of the leading actors, arranged by a student’s dad. Ms. Montenegro said the trip was “a huge success, mixing some entertainment, education and personal bonding with classmates.” So now many students are wondering, “What do they have planned for an encore?” This trip just so happened to work out nicely with the overlapping studies, but what’s next? Ms. Montenegro said she has many ideas but now would be too early to give them. When asked about the incident that occurred on the overnight trip a couple of years ago, Ms. Montenegro said that it “has no bearing on the future of overnight trips” and that an overnight trip is in the planning stages. Nothing is finalized. She says what will really determine the trip is the commitment of students to go on the trip, as they would be performing and there cannot be a trip without a “viable team or adequate ensemble instruction.” Overall, Ms. Montenegro hopes to keep taking her students on trips that she hopes are providing “experiences and opportunities that grow upon work that is done in the classroom.” So band, orchestra, chorus (and maybe even history) students, be on high alert for music trip mentions, as they are likely to be noteworthy.