LA Music Tour 2024
On Friday 16th February four members of staff (Mr. Druker, Mrs. Yates, Mr. Stark and Mr. Jackson) and 28 members of both Big Band and Folk Ensemble travelled down to London Heathrow to journey off to the USA to enjoy performances, culture and lots of food on a week long tour to Los Angeles.
Over the course of the week pupils visited the oldest theme park in America (Knotts Berry Farm) over the Presidents Day Memorial weekend, Warner Bros. Studios to sit on both the original Friends and The Big Band Theory sets, Griffith Park Observatory and the Long Beach Aquarium. We were all lucky enough to also perform at the illustrious Bob Cole Conservatory under the guidance of Head of Jazz, Jeff Jarvis and we spent a day in a High School.
Valencia High School is not too dissimilar to NSB - slightly more pupils (2400) a strange set up of curriculum - pupils start lessons at 7.29 am every day and sports facilities are all sponsored by Nike. Although over 5,000 miles separates the pupils from both Schools they all found common bonds - music being one of the most integral links. The pupils went to lessons in the morning and enjoyed a tour in the afternoon followed by rehearsals with the musicians of Valencia High. We then performed a concert in the evening featuring big band charts, folk music, vocal numbers and a huge en masse piece featuring all of the musicians from both schools.
Our final day took us to sunny Santa Monica where pupils enjoyed the pier, funnel cake and some final shopping at the enormous Nike shop. More photos and videos will be on both our Twitter page and over on Instagram. Thanks to all the staff for taking pupils and thanks to all pupils for working so hard - here's to the next tour in 2026!!
Mr Druker
