About 20 Upper Arlington High School students will travel to the Far East this summer as part of a string ensemble.
The Upper Arlington High School Symphony Orchestra was one of only three U.S. orchestras selected to be part of the League of Astonishing Strings, which will perform in China on a 12-day tour from Beijing to Shanghai.
No part of the $110,000 cost for the trip will be district funded, so the students – as well as their mentors and parents – are fundraising to cover some of the expenses.
The Bears to Beijing Gala performance, scheduled for March 16, is the primary tour fundraiser, says Dori Jennings, Upper Arlington High School Orchestra Parent Association member and mother of symphony member Laura Jennings, a senior violinist.
“It's pretty expensive, so we're just trying to raise whatever we can to help offset those costs,” Jennings says.
The UAHS Symphony Orchestra was chosen to be part of the trip after Bob Phillips, one of the League's founders, heard a performance at the Ohio Music Educators Association conference last year, says UAHS Symphony Director Ed Zunic.
Zunic says he believes the trip will be a great experience for the students who attend.
“First of all, there’s the aspect of working together – not even on the trip itself, but the preparation for the trip (and) what’s going to happen in the next six to eight weeks,” Zunic says.
Add to that the rare opportunity to perform in China on stages they might never even see, otherwise.
“China has built these incredible performance venues and they don’t have ensembles that perform in them on a regular basis,” Zunic says. “Then there’s the whole cultural aspect of this adventure. The students who are going with me, none of them has been to China. These are kids from Upper Arlington who are using their instruments as a vehicle to get out of our ZIP code and experience something outside of Franklin County.”
The performances abroad will feature pieces by Mozart, Bach and Koppel.
“It’s been a bit of a challenge on our end because we have to find music that fits the group,” Zunic says. “We’ll be performing probably 20-30 minutes of music that was composed or written for smaller ensembles.
The Gala, planned for 3-6 p.m. March 16 at Hastings Middle School, 1850 Hastings Ln., will feature musicians from ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and the Columbus Orchestra, many of whom teach private lessons to the students who plan to attend the trip, Zunic says.
“We are very excited about this that performance. The gala is a combination of local musicans from ProMusica, from Columbus Symphony and ... central Ohio community members that also work with our students,” Zunic says. “The concert itself is two acts. The first act is going to be the adults performing – the teachers performing, the (Columbus Orchestra) Promusica musicians performing – and the second act is the students performing.”
Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for children under 18 and can be purchased online at www.uastrings.org or at the door.
In the meantime, students have been raising money by playing small group performances at private and corporate events and by giving short lessons to younger strings students.
Zunic says he’s been impressed with the level of dedication – from the whole community – to making the trip happen.
“What struck me about this whole process, in the last six months of preparing for this trip, is how (it) has brought together this group of parents, students and teachers that see this as a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids,” he says.
Lisa Aurand is editor of Tri-Village Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
