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Governor's School student musicians to tour Italy
Biennial trip offers performance and cultural experience for young artists
GREENVILLE, SC - Kati and Joy Lear of Mount Pleasant have started packing their bags.
On Friday, Kati, a senior voice student at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, her mother Joy, dozens of music students and adults will depart for Italy as part of the 2009 International Music Performance Tour. The tour is held the week of March 16th, when the Governor's School will be closed for Spring Break.
It is perfect timing for the mother and daughter, who years ago talked about taking a trip to Italy as a high school graduation gift for Kati.
"When the opportunity presented itself, it was an automatic ‘yes,'" Joy Lear said. "We are really, really excited."
More than 40 music students - including vocalists, cellists, flutists, pianists and even a harp player - will spend a week abroad learning about the culture and history of Italy and conducting four music performances for residents of Florence, Mantua and Rome.
One performance will be during liturgy services at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City of Rome. "It should be a pretty rich experience," said Dana Howard, who teaches Art History and Humanities at the Governor's School. Like nearly all of the participants, this will be Howard's first trip to Italy.
"They will learn about the history of Italy, which is the birthplace of opera, and gain international performance experience," Howard said. "This is an important place for them to visit."
Seven adult chaperones and four Governor's School faculty will participate. The group departs for Italy on Friday, March 13 and will return to the United States on Saturday, March 21.
This will be a second trip to Italy with Governor's School students for Dr. David Hamilton, who is chair of the Music department. The trip is biennial; the 2007 tour was in Austria and the Czech Republic, and a group toured Italy in 2005. Students pay for their own travel. "Our aim is to take an international trip every two years, so every student has an opportunity to participate" Dr. Hamilton said. Music students typically attend the Governor's School during their junior and senior years of high school.
He said other countries were considered for this year's tour. "Italy offers much in the way of art, architecture, history and culture," Dr. Hamilton said. "There was by far the most interest in visiting this country."
The list of participants, by county, is as follows:
Aiken
Spencer Chipman
Anderson
Joshua Thomason
Barnwell
Tony Nix
Berkeley
Meghan Jackson
Charleston
Kati Lear
Morgan Roach
Morgan Voke
Chester
Siobhan McLaughlin
Dorchester
James Lindroth
Dustin Poelker
Florence
Anne Lewis
Margaret Perry
Georgetown
Jonathan Britt
Kenneth Cox
Greenville
Brittany Bradfute
Benjamin Chen
Audrey Cook
Josh Dieringer
Nicholas Gerald
Laurel Johnson
Amanda Palmer
Greenwood
Elijah Smith
Horry
William Barker
Darlea Carr
Nathan Reeves
Alexandra Tennant
Haley Zdybel
Lancaster
Sara Parker
Lexington
Garrett Campbell
Newberry
Grace Bernardo
Oconee
Catherine Devoe
Anna Teague
Pickens
Kathryn Breazeale
Nicholas Capps
Ashlee Kay
Richland
Peter Kim
Randall Nashleanas
Spartanburg
Alexander Bedillion
Meghan Bucher
Michael Byrd
Katelyne Lagroon
Hope Lucktenburg
Thomas McCarley
Tyler Thompson
McCormick Wooden
The South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities is a public residential high school for emerging artists statewide. Pre-professional programs are offered in Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts.
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