May 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:Megan Overman, Public Information Officer
Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District
817-251-5503

GHS students preparing for Olympic-style performances in China

Grapevine High School band and choir students will perform in Beijing in June as part of a mass musical tribute to the 2008 Summer Olympics being hosted in China. Students, led by band director Steve Andre and choir teacher Patrick Antinone, will travel to China from June 9-18 to participate in the Beijing City Festival’s “Perform in Harmony – with Olympic Spirit.” This festival will salute the Olympic Games and feature the best of Texas band and choral music.

Forty band members and 37 choir students will represent GHS and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD in the festival. The band students are members of the GHS Wind Ensemble, the school’s top concert band.

The students will be one of the first groups of Americans to participate in the summer-long celebration of the 2008 Summer Olympics. According to Antinone, these students can be considered “music ambassadors” for the Olympics.

“I think that the impact for these students will be immeasurable,” Antinone said. “The cultural experience alone will be one of a lifetime. We are always talking about how participation in choir provides an opportunity for kids to be part of something bigger than just themselves.”

He added that the group is excited to not only represent their school, but also their organization, their school district, their community and their country. The group realizes the great responsibility and expectations that surround this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

“As a director, this is the sort of opportunity that you dream about,” Antinone said. “I have been proud time and time again of the way that kids respond to these opportunities, and I have no doubt that this group of kids will respond in kind.” Andre agrees, adding that he also believes this is a special opportunity. “It is still hard to fathom that in just a month, this dream will be a reality,” he said.

While in Beijing, the students will perform a handful of concerts. Two of the concerts will be held in large civic halls that have been compared to Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. The remaining performances will include “exchange” concerts with Chinese high schools in both Shanghai and Beijing. The Chinese and American students will sing and play instruments for each other, and all of the students will learn a Chinese song for a joint performance.

“It should be an awesome experience for our students to interact with the high school students in China,” Andre said. “I am confident that the audiences will be impressed with our high level of musicianship. This trip will be an experience our students will cherish for the rest of their lives.”

The Texas delegation will be directed by Dr. Jerry McCoy, who currently serves as director of choral studies and professor of music at The University of North Texas. His role will be to conduct a portion of the GHS concert performances.

Between performances, the group will tour Beijing, Shanghai and surrounding attractions including The Great Wall, Forbidden City, Yu Garden, Beijing Opera and the famous Shanghai Acrobats. Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth, GHS principal, will also accompany the group.