Samathasri Boggula • Junior • Violin
It is unbelievable that an orchestra program I’ve been a part of for five years traveled across the country to Indianapolis, all for the sake of making and appreciating music. In such an unfamiliar environment, our orchestra, varying from the ages 14-18, had to find the familiar in each other: our love for music, desire to get to know each other, and appreciation for Mr. Lack banding us together. Despite a year of making music together, I believe that traveling to Indy truly made our orchestra a cohesive group of musicians and people.
A core memory of this trip that cemented this cohesion was the Punch Bowl Social. Of course, we can play our instruments well, but did you know that quite a few of us can also sing? During the social, a good chunk of our orchestra crammed ourselves into a small, dark karaoke room and sang our hearts out. Was it hot? Yes. Was the room way over capacity? Yes. Was it fun? Yes. It just went to show that despite our vastly different ages and lives, music, nonetheless, continued to tie us together even outside of an orchestral setting.
As I sit at home with post-Indy depression and reflect on this trip, I believe it was a truly unique and valuable experience that helped to strengthen my preexisting relationships and allowed me to forge new ones. Despite my unfamiliar environment, I felt a shared love for music in my surrounding peers, conductors, and clinicians, who urged me to keep music in my heart for as long as possible. So, despite putting a dent in my parent's wallets, I truly believe this trip was worthwhile, allowing me to meet new people, see new places, learn new lessons, and find the familiar in the unfamiliar.
