From the halls of Waubonsie Valley High School to the streets of Rome, local students welcomed the new year with music, marching and memories they’ll never forget.
“Rome is just an amazing city in general, so going there at all was a really cool experience, but doing it with my friends was probably even better. And getting to play my trumpet in there was amazing,” said Tyler Talaga, a junior at Waubonsie Valley.
A holiday season filled with music
Dozens of students in Waubonsie’s band program, along with faculty and family members, visited the Eternal City from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, spending two days entertaining crowds with different performances.
“The day before New Year’s Eve, we went to a town called Frascati and did a little festival there, where we kind of paraded into their town square, performed for about 15 minutes. Just really fun pep band, pop tunes, kind of a thing,” said Mark Duker, chair of the Waubonsie Valley Fine Arts Department. “And then we hung out there and had lunch and gelato, of course, and just got to see a town outside of Rome.”
Following their time in Frascati, they headed to Central Rome to participate in the New Year parade. While there, they also performed in a concert at the Church of Santa Maria.
“Getting to march in the streets of Rome and seeing all the big buildings and the paintings and the cathedrals that are there, it was really a great experience to have with my friends,” said Talaga.
Pope Leo XIV makes an appearance
When they weren’t performing, students and other members of the Waubonsie group explored popular attractions, including Pompeii and the Colosseum.
Participants say the cherry on top of the trip was seeing Chicago’s very own Pope Leo XIV say mass on New Year’s Day at St. Peter’s Basilica.
“We thought maybe the Pope would be inside, and we would be outside just watching it on video. But when we showed up, we just got in line that was going inside…Suddenly, we were inside, and they took us all the way down the left aisle, and we were sitting pretty much directly in line with the altar, and it was a shock,” said Duker.
“That was definitely my favorite part of the trip, definitely the highlight of the trip,” said Talaga.
Band trips offer students new perspectives
The voyage to Italy was more than two years in the making, according to Duker. The decades-long educator, who is retiring this year, said the band program tries to take trips regularly, whether domestic or international.
He explained that experiences abroad are beneficial to students, offering them new worldviews and deepening their musical knowledge.
“We believe that high school is about just helping them get ready to be adults, and figuring out who they are, and giving them some experiences that broaden their perspective a little bit. I think travel, and especially international travel, is one of the best ways to do that,” said Duker.
Although Duker does not know where the band’s next trip will be, he says planning is expected to begin in the next few months.
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