On April 1, students and teachers noticed that many of their classmates were not at school and that some classes were even half empty. This was no April Fool’s joke; rather, absent students were on the three-day orchestra trip to Los Angeles, California.

The school’s three orchestras (Saratoga Strings, String Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra) all performed at the Anaheim Musical Festival at Fullerton College for the Heritage Festival.

Each Saratoga group placed in the top five: Saratoga Strings first, Philharmonic Orchestra third and String Orchestra fourth.

Senior Kevin Duong-Le, a violist in String Orchestra, said that the orchestra had been training for their performance at the festival since September of last year.

“We have been practicing the same songs since fall and have played them for various concerts such as  the homestead festival and CMEA festival to ensure that we have plenty of practice performing on stage so that we do well at Disney,”  Duong-Le said.

On the first day, students headed to the Santa Monica beach and spent their free time watching a musical play called  “Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.” The following day, they performed at the festival and were judged by musical professors from nearby universities such as Chapman University. Afterwards, they spent the afternoon in Disneyland, getting to go on rides and do whatever they want.

On the last day, the orchestra visited the Disney Recording Studios.

“We got to see what it is like to record music for movie soundtracks, which was such an insight into what professional musicians do every day,” said senior violist Nina Groeneveld.

At one point, the students were allowed to play snippets from Disney movies such as the Lion King, and immediately afterwards, they were able to see the movie projected in front of them with their music in the background.

During the performance, the String Orchestra played Carl Nielson’s “Little Suite”, Der Liebende’s “Rakastava” and Bedrich Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians.”

The musicians created lasting memories, making it one of orchestra’s most enjoyable trips.

“It was a great time for us to enjoy each other’s company and hang out with friends while also performing,” said Groeneveld.