Niles West’s Orchestra took a field trip around Chicago on Friday, Dec. 8, to experience its vast art world. All parts of orchestra went and the field trip was led by orchestra instructor Natalie Frakes. The class left school around 1:30 p.m. and got to their first destination, the Christkindl Market, a festive-themed fair where vendors sell their items at Daley Plaza. They then went to the Art Institute and saw the exhibit Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms. They then got dinner and watched the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) perform the pieces in Home Alone.

The concert consisted of the movie Home Alone playing on a projector behind the orchestra while they played iconic pieces from the film.

The point of the trip was to help the orchestra see opportunities right next door.

“Experiencing culture and enabling personal and team development. Chicago is right next door and is home to lifelong learning, exploration, creativity and play. I want my students to learn how to live in this world, safely, with wonder and in awe,” Frakes said.

The trip was also supposed to be a fun learning opportunity for the students to learn from professionals.

“I learned that it takes a true level of dedication and commitment to achieve music at the level of the CSO and we should aspire to do that. The way we could do that is by really committing to putting time aside to practice and to create a sense of unity throughout our orchestra because music is about communication,” junior and first chair violinist Yohanna Endashaw said. 

Endashaw has been in orchestra since freshman year and is so happy she was able to experience the exhilarating art world of Chicago with her class. She specifically enjoyed the Christkindl Market and the Art institution.

The CSO also gave students a sense of belonging to a bigger community and some insight into their futures.

“We learned how connected our community is and obviously the CSO is amazing so we aspire to be like them. Hopefully, in the future, some of us will be a part of that orchestra,” sophomore and first chair of synoptic violins Rachel George said.

Sophomore and violist Mimi Ali said that the CSO was so good that she couldn’t even tell the orchestra wasn’t actually part of the movie. Since the orchestra was so in tune with the movie, it sounded like the live music was a part of a movie playlist. Some things Ali specifically admired were the orchestra’s ability to switch bows and timing the pieces so preciously they matched the movie to the exact second.

Even if seeing the CSO wasn’t the original plan Frakes still was happy the orchestra could experience it.

“I wanted us to experience seeing a professional orchestra perform. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is lauded as one of the best orchestras in the world. Initially, we were going to see Hilary Hahn perform but the tickets were very expensive. Hopefully, we can see them perform a solely classical concert in the future,” Frakes said.

The field trip was a huge success as the orchestra now knows what an official orchestra looks like and how they can help Niles West’s orchestra simulate something similar.