WHS’ 25th Music Adjudication

On April 27^th and 28^th, hundreds of Wilton’s finest musical performers will travel to New Jersey and New York for the annual Adjudication Trip. The Band Trip, as many rightfully call it, was originally initiated by band director Chip Gawle nearly 25 years ago. Since then, every year WHS’ band, orchestra, and chorus performers have traveled to locations such as Boston, Hershey, and Washington D.C. to be adjudicated by some of the most brilliant musical minds of the Northeast.

This year’s itinerary may be short, but the days are packed for students. On Friday morning, students will depart for New Jersey. Later that day, the choral groups will perform, then the instrumental ensembles. At 8:00, students will return to the hotel after a long day- only to prepare for the two-and-a-half hour buffet dinner and DJ party to come. Saturday morning will come all too quickly, with students waking up at 5:00 to attend the awards ceremony at Hard Rock Café in New York City. They will then head to Jackson, New Jersey for an entire afternoon of excitement at Six Flags Great Adventure.

The ensembles will undoubtedly earn the respect of the judges; most groups have been practicing their pieces for months. All groups have succeeded in the past, achieving dozens of “Good” and “Excellent” ratings. This year, students will be shooting for that “Superior” mark. Even though the Adjudication is a competition, it is a valuable and worthwhile experience for students and the directors to make improvements for their performing groups and also excel on a personal level. After all, the Adjudication is not about “beating other schools”, but receiving useful critique from leading musicians and ultimately bettering individuals and the group as a whole. This year marks the trip’s 25^thanniversary- here’s to 25 more great years!