This summer, junior Benjamin Rabin and Fine Arts Department Head Susan Memoli will travel to Europe with their respective orchestras.
Rabin, a violinist, will be touring Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia with his orchestra, The New England Conservatory Youth Philharmonic Orchestra on their biennial tour. This year’s trip was mapped out based on the German composer Gustav Mahler’s life.
“Our conductor, who is a huge fan of [Mahler], decided that we should celebrate the centennial of his death, so we’re going on a pilgrimage, as he calls it, from where he was born to where he died,” said Rabin.
Along with many other tourist stops, the group will take the opportunity to play in the Musikverein, a concert hall built in the 1800s in Vienna, Austria.
Rabin auditioned for the orchestra at the beginning of this year and practices with them every Saturday for three hours at the NEC in Boston. The trip will be a highlight.
“Just going to Europe is always fun, seeing the old cities and having fun with my friends,” said Rabin.
Memoli will be going on a different trip, taking a group of over 100 high school orchestra players on a tour of five different European countries through a program called American Music Abroad.
Musicians from Wayland, Weston, Westford Academy and Fairfax County, Virginia will journey through the streets of Europe, experiencing not only the culture but the music.
Wayland students Ryan Budnick, Amy MacDonald, Caroline Ayanian, Julia Matta, Karen Zhang, Jesse Hoopes, Andy Marton, Samantha Briasco-Stewart, Tiffany Sze, Elizabeth Soper, Jing He, Anna Lifland, Maddie Memoli, Nicholas Memoli, Mark Bestavros, Carlos Melero and Marcus Garant will join Memoli.
The group will start their trip in Pennsylvania for three days of intensive rehearsing and informational meetings that will help prepare them for the experience. Then they will fly to France and play at the beach in Normandy, their first of nine concerts.
“Literally, there will be concerts where it is standing room only, and the entire audience is clapping in unison at the end because they are just so excited, and they really, really appreciate the performance,” said Memoli.
When they aren’t performing, students will also get to explore the Champs-Elysees and the Eiffel Tower.
“[We get to do] all the typical touristy things, but it’s never quite the same when you visit [Europe] with over 100 kids,” said Memoli.
Memoli decided to bring the program to Wayland High School after her husband, the Weston music director, got involved with the program 18 years ago. Memoli began to see how important this type of experience is to musicians.
“There’s so much you can learn by stepping out of your little space and learning what the world is about, but connecting that with music and being able to bring that to a wider audience, being able to have that be your connection in places where you don’t even speak the same language is such an amazing opportunity,” said Memoli.