As the campus music department expands their area of music, the choir and ensembles will take a trip to the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) trip. Students will leave Wednesday, March 12, at 5 p.m. in front of the Peoples Church Sanctuary and will return Saturday, March 15 at 7 p.m.

The ACSI Musicale is an event where different Christian schools from around the state of California, attend at the Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, CA, to sing together to the best of their ability. Approximately 500-800 students will attend the event along with other teachers and directors.

Choral Accompanist Kim Schapansky thinks it’s a good idea that students from around the state can come and sing together. She along with the choir students have been preparing since Christmas for the festival.

“I think it’s a good experience for the kids to sing in a very large choir, so I think this will be a once in a lifetime experience for them,” Schapansky said. “I also love the interaction the students get with meeting kids from other schools.”

One of the choir students, Madison Seib, ’15, is very excited to go on the trip. She is mostly looking forward to meeting students from different schools.

“I’m mainly expecting a lot of people, a lot of fun and meeting a lot of new friends,” Seib said. “My favorite song would be ‘Shout Glory’ because of the upbeat gospel style and the solos.”

Andrew Guthrie, ’15, as an ensemble student, mainly looks forward to the solo that he is going to sing. The fact that other schools are participating give him a chance to meet others.

“I think the main point of this festival is to draw us closer to Christians as a whole to other Christian schools to stay connected through God, and doing music is a really good option,” Guthrie said. “I’m looking forward to singing my solo, ‘Give Me Jesus,’ with Mrs. Schapansky.”

Some students, like Garrett Hill, ’15, think that ACSI is fun because of the bonding time they have toward other students. He thinks that bonding is part of the fun in the festival.

“I’m looking forward to the trip being great, and I think it’s just going to be an all-around fun experience, not just the singing part, but the bonding time with friends at the hotels,” Hill said. “My favorite song that we’re going through is ‘When We Live Our Alleluias’ because not only is it my preferred song and I can sing it more fluently, but I also like the lyrics in the song also.”

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @mattgarza2017. Follow The Feather via Twitter @thefeather.

For more news, read the March 11 article, BRIEF: NSPA honors finalists, Feather absent from list.