Nearly 300 orchestra students from Lincoln and Emerson Middle Schools attended a recent field trip to downtown Chicago, where they experienced a live performance by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) at the Sounding Together concert.
The students were accompanied by about 30 parent and staff chaperones. During the event at Orchestra Hall, they listened to professional musicians perform pieces by composers including Mikhail Glinka, Jaques Offenbach, George Whitefield Chadwick, Charles Gounod, Antonín Dvořák, and Edvard Grieg. The Sounding Together program is designed to demonstrate collaboration through music and aims to provide young audiences with an educational concert experience.
Before attending the concert, orchestra teachers led class discussions and listening activities focused on the featured works and composers. Students explored musical themes, historical context, and shared their personal reactions in preparation for seeing the performance live.
After the concert concluded, students and chaperones had lunch together at Portillo’s. This provided an opportunity for everyone to discuss highlights from the performance and reflect on their shared experience.
