The Music Department has had much success in the annual music trips this Spring. Last weekend, The Washington Lee Concert Choir, Women’s Chorale and Madrigal Singers joined the String and Symphonic Orchestras in New York to participate in the World Stride’s Heritage Music Festival among numerous of middle and high schools from around North America. Each choir sang three songs and each orchestra performed three songs as well. The Concert Choir received a third place gold rating, and the Women’s Chorale and Madrigals received first place gold ratings. Additionally, the Madrigals alone received The Adjudicator’s Award, Best Combined Score and Most Outstanding Choir in the entire competition. “I’m really happy that we got the chance to have so much success in my third and last year in Madrigals,” said senior Mecca Russell. “It wasn’t just about the trophies, but about realizing I was a part of a great group of people who share an inseparable bond. Without Ms. Severin, we could have never gotten this far.” The Chamber Orchestra received a second place gold rating and the String Orchestra received a silver rating which helped contribute to Washington-Lee receiving the Best Overall Music Department Award with the combined scores of both Choir and Orchestra which is an improvement from last year’s trip in Orlando, Florida. “Winning felt even better since it wasn’t just the orchestra–it was our entire music department,” said junior Casey Spellman. “It made it that much more rewarding and celebratory.” The band traveled to Atlanta, Georgia the weekend before Spring Break to compete in the Fiesta Val Music Competition. The Concert Band received a first place excellent rating, and the Symphonic Band received a second place superior rating. The Jazz Band and Jazz Lab received first place superior ratings and Jazz Lab students Thomas Cuesta and Tucker Kelsch received Outstanding Soloist Awards for their instrumental performances. The Rhythm Section of the Jazz Big Band received best overall Rhythm Section for Brass and Saxophones and Jazz Big Band soloists Remy Rossi, Alex DeLazzari, Henry Banks, and Micah Reinharz received Outstanding Soloist Awards as well. The Jazz Band was recognized with a score that categorized them as Champions and both the Symphonic and Jazz Big Bands were recognized with a score that categorized them as Grand Champions which was an improvement from last years Champion recognition. “Honestly, I wasn’t too sure if we were going to do well or not, “ said senior Torey Driggs. “However, collectively, I think we knew that even if the results weren’t the best, we had the time of our lives.”