Lake Oswego students travel to Europe as Oregon Ambassadors of Music

This summer, ten buses full of Oregon high schoolers toured across Europe for two weeks, bringing their instruments, or their voices, and the desire to spread their love of music.

Lake Oswego students were part of the Oregon Ambassadors of Music Choir, Band and Orchestra for a two-week tour of Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Their travels took them from Cremona, Italy — the birthplace of the modern violin — to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, where Mozart famously performed and honed his skills.

“I think my favorite part of the experience was the people,” said Bella Rogers, a senior at Lakeridge High School who sang alto in the OAM Choir. “I feel like by the end of the trip we had a really nice close-knit community with people I would have never met if I hadn't been there. People within different age groups, different interests and definitely people who we do not live close to within the state.”

More than 100 schools from every corner of Oregon were represented in the OAM Band, Choir and Orchestra. To join, students are nominated by their music teachers at school, some were familiar with the program from friends or family and expressed interest at the end of the school year.

The tour started in Italy in the middle of a hot Mediterranean summer. In Cremona, the orchestra students had a chance to hear a Stradivarius violin — one of the original handmade instruments dating back hundreds of years.

“I’d heard so much about them in orchestra class,” said Bella Jordan, who played violin in the OAM Orchestra after graduating from Lakeridge last spring. “I think (it was) one of the most impactful experiences for me because I have never heard an instrument that sounded like the notes weren't coming from a physical piece of wood, but instead from the air itself. The tones it was able to produce were beautiful and so magical.”

Touring through the heart of Europe gave the students many chances to explore and perform in spaces such as the Duomo di Cremona, a cathedral built in the 12th century.

“It was the first time I heard acoustics like that,” said Julianna Cahill, a junior at Lakeridge who sang soprano in the OAM Choir. “The first time I heard us sing a note, it just carries on and on. Those spaces are designed for sound and choirs and instruments.”

Rogers mentioned that before the choir’s performances at the Salzburg Dom, they were surprised at the adulation from the Austrians who stopped to listen to them sing outside the cathedral.

“Many of these students have never left the country. Some of them have probably never left the state and they get to cross the country and an ocean, which I think helps to elevate everybody's independence and sees a big jump in their confidence,” said Tracy Cahill, Julianna’s mom, who traveled to see some of the choir’s performances on tour.

Based on the students’ musicality and professionalism, audiences were often surprised that they weren’t from universities.

“Some of my favorite things were traveling, exploring with the students, to be part of something this large and performing in these awesome venues with our students. Also, giving European audiences American music and showing what an orchestra program looks like here. I loved talking to the audiences because they were so excited,” said Kristina Stingle, the orchestra director at Lakeridge High School.

The students had only four days of rehearsal with Executive Director Steve Zielke and their ensemble directors before they left for the two-week tour. Time spent performing and together in the caravan buses helped bond the ensembles together.

“We acted like a family road trip,” added Cahill.

This was the first year that a string orchestra joined the OAM since the tour began in 1995. Traveling with string instruments is logistically more difficult than traveling with a choir or band.

“90 degrees with 80% humidity,” said Stingle. “We opened the cases of our rental cellos and basses and three of them already had broken strings, and the glue that holds the pieces of wood together expanded and pulled it apart.”

It was through patience, ingenuity and the kindness of strangers that the group carried on with borrowed instruments.

To watch a recorded performance of the OAM Orchestra performing in Prague, visit https://www.facebook.com/share/v/BuGAqc11n6R3HjPk/.

“Being able to perform in the cities made being in the cities all the more valuable to me because we were giving something back,” said Jordan.