SHS orchestras travel to Atlanta for National Orchestra Festival
In a historic trip for the school, the students enjoyed performing in a national conference alongside experiencing the city of Atlanta and its culture.
The Philharmonic Strings orchestra combined with the Freshman orchestra to play together in the non-competitive category of the conference.
For the first time in school history, 144 members of the school’s orchestras attended the 2025 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference. It was held in Atlanta from March 19-22. They attended the conference’s largest event, the National Orchestra Festival, alongside 28 other talented junior high and high school student music ensembles from across the country to compete, learn and perform.
Two ensembles — Philharmonic Strings (PS) and Saratoga Strings (SS) — took the stage, showcasing their talent in front of a national audience. The competitive group, SS, placed 5th out of 20 competing ensembles.
Following their performances, students had the opportunity to attend professional concerts, clinics and exhibit halls, explore Atlanta and bond with other orchestra members.
Courtesy of Saratoga Music Boosters
The orchestra arrives at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world.
The group stayed in the historic Hyatt Regency of Atlanta – the conference also took place in the hotel ballrooms, right below the lobby. (Tanvee Tirthapura)
The orchestras gather to walk to dinner in the hotel lobby. (Tanvee Tirthapura)
PS, the non-competitive ensemble, performs “in the Dreams of Zhao” in Centennial Ballroom I-II. (Ethan Lee)Following the performance, the orchestra enjoyed their celebratory dinner at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Point, a Southern restaurant. That night, the entire restaurant was rented out for the students to enjoy, featuring THE MAR-TANS, a live band playing classic R&B and Blues hits. (Ethan Lee)
The day after the performance, the group explored the Georgia Aquarium, the second largest aquarium in the world. (Tanvee Tirthapura)
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