From April 10th to April 15th, the BC Choir explored the great New York City for their 2024 trip.

Every two years, the choir travels to perform in and experience a new city, and New York City proved to be a very exciting experience for all students involved.

Leaving from Midway airport in Chicago, the choir embarked to their hotel, just a few minutes walk from Times Square where they could see the beautiful, giant screens advertising Ryan Gosling’s new film Fall Guy.

Touring the vast concrete jungle of Manhattan, the choir got to see many famous landmarks. These included seeing the Empire State Building, singing at St. Paul’s Cathedral, seeing the city skyline from the top of the Rockefeller Tower, the 9/11 museum, and singing at the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island! Students also got to choose whether to see the Broadway Museum or Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. The trip took them down to Chinatown and Little Italy, which gave some insightful look into different cultures.

The trip to the Statue of Liberty was certainly one of the highlights. The choir took the ferry out to the island and got to see one of our nation’s greatest monuments up close. As a personal favorite, I got to fill out my official National Parks passport, getting a stamp and a sticker! Some other students and I also got official junior park officer badges.

Back in the streets of Manhattan, the group got to experience the New York culture, with all of its highs and lows. It was definitely a change for these suburban Wisconsin kids to see the crazy traffic and homeless dudes all hyped up on crack.
However, they also got to experience the more classy part of Manhattan, since the choir attended multiple different fantastic Broadway musicals, includingHamilton, Sweeney Todd, Six, MJ, and more.

Overall, this trip was a fantastic experience loaded with unique experiences. Lots of bonding occurred between members, and it was one of my favorite trips of all time.