Congratulations to the Middle School Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band members for their performances at the New England Music in the Parks Festival on Saturday, May 7. The bands won top ratings of superior at the Festival. They were the top two scoring ensembles of the ten high school and middle school groups at the festival from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York. Tyler Jenkins-Wong won a special award as the top jazz soloist of the festival. The judges remarked that if they closed their eyes, it sounded more like college musicians than middle school students. One of the judges who has taught at the university level for 19 years commented that the Wind Ensemble is one of the finest middle school bands he has ever heard. The judges had valuable feedback about musical details for students as they continue to reach for their best possible performance.
On Friday, The students toured part of the Freedom Trail in Boston where they explored the bell tower and catacombs of Old North Church. The students also visited the Paul Revere House, the oldest home in Boston. The students visited Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. Finally, they walked through the six tall glass towers of the New England Holocaust Memorial. The have steam rising through vents on the ground and each symbolize of one of the six major concentration camps in Europe. The panels have quotes from Holocaust survivors. We spent time around the final panel with a quote from Pastor Martin Niemöller:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
We discussed how for all of us, there are times when it is necessary to act when people around us are silent. As future community leaders, it falls to these students to have courage to speak out when others do not raise their voices. These young students will long remember the history and great music from the trip. They had a great time, but they were also well behaved and outstanding representatives of Phoenixville Area School District.