(Photo Credits:  Jennifer Golden, Jeff Fleming, David Golden, Jenny Rogers)

This past week may have been Spring Break for Kingsport City Schools, but hundreds of KCS students were hard at work in locations all across the nation, displaying incredible academic, athletic, and musical talents during their vacation.  For almost 350 Dobyns-Bennett students, it was an opportunity to showcase their musical abilities in some of the most storied venues in America.

This week in the Saturday Six, let’s look at how the D-B Chorus, Orchestra, and Band spent their Spring Break.  Their travels took the groups to Indianapolis and New York City!

1. The D-B Varsity Choir was one of only 12 choirs in the entire nation invited to perform at the Music for All Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The group performed at the historic St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, one of the most historic venues in downtown Indianapolis, dating back to the mid-1800’s.
2. While in Indy, the group participated in master classes and rehearsed with renowned choral conductors.  The festival included a concert by the combined choir of all festival participants (over 500 members) at the historic Hilbert Theater on Indy’s Monument Circle.
3. With this appearance, it is believed that Dobyns-Bennett is the only high school in the world that has had a band, orchestra, and a choir to all perform at a Music for All Festival.
4. Speaking of the Band and Orchestra, almost 300 student hit the road to New York City for a weekend of performances.  The weekend started with the band and orchestra presenting an evening of Irish music in historic Carnegie Hall, featuring Irish tenor and member of Celtic Thunder Emmett Cahill.
5. On Saturday, March 17th, the D-B Color Guard joined the group in marching in the annual NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  The parade is one of the oldest parades in America… There have been St. Patrick’s Day parades in New York City since the 1760’s!
6. In addition to the marching band, the parade performance was highlighted by orchestra and color guard members carrying a variety of national and state flags, making this one of the most unique and inclusive events in which D-B has performed.

It was truly a special week in the history of D-B music.  Congrats to the talented students, adults, and supporters that made these incredible trips possible!

Next week in the Saturday Six:  The weather may not reflect it, but the calendar says it’s Spring!  Next week, we’ll preview the rest of the KCS Spring semester and look at the incredible things that are coming up on the calendar between now and the end of the school year.