A lengthened spring break was not the only after-effect of March 14’s winter storm, when clouds rolled in and dumped over a foot of wet snow onto the front range. About 16 inches fell in Creek’s area, resulting in two snow days on March 14 and 15. For the choir students in Creek 21, a class field trip to Italy was at stake.
Air traffic in and out of Denver International Airport (DIA) took a massive hit due to the weather. Over 1000 flights out of the US’s largest hub airport were affected and over 800 were canceled, one of which was Creek 21’s British Airways connecting flight to London.
“We have been looking forward to this trip for almost a full calendar year,” choir director Adam Cave said. “Our choir tours serve as the culmination of our school year. In the case of our Italy tour, we are taking [almost 60 minutes of music] that we’ve performed throughout the year and putting it on stage for people across the world.”
Cave worked with the touring company, K1 Concerts, the night of March 14 to get the trip rescheduled. He was able to plan it for May 26-June 2.
“It was a Herculean effort to get the trip rescheduled,” he said. “In all, it was about 48 hours of desperately trying to find a solution before we found something that stuck.”
Junior choir member Kat Murphy is looking forward to the warmer conditions during the rescheduled trip. “On the bright side, we are going at the end of the year, which makes the weather in Italy so much better, and really worth the wait,” Murphy said.
On the trip, the choir had plans to play at concerts, including one in the Vatican, along with exchange performances with international student choirs.
“This trip has been something I’ve been looking forward to for nearly a year now,” sophomore Creek 21 member Bear Brickley said. “It’s not everyday you get to travel to a beautiful country with so many other talented musicians who want to share that music with you.”
Because of these opportunities with other groups, the postponement of the trip might affect choir’s plans.
“Mr. Cave was in contact with a choir in Italy that we were supposed to sing with,” Murphy said. “Now that the trip has been postponed, we are not quite sure what we will do.”
Choir members like Brickley looked forward to the trip because of the bond the class has developed.
“Creek 21 is special because we all had to audition which makes us an extremely talented group that also cares deeply about music,” Brickley said. “We’ve taken many retreats to get close with one another and Italy has been something we’ve all been excited for.”
Brickley was appreciative of Cave’s efforts to make sure the trip wasn’t derailed.
“I want to thank Mr. Cave for all the effort he has been putting in to make this trip possible for us. It’s not easy managing 40 kids going overseas but he’s putting all his effort into doing so,” he said. “I can’t imagine all the pressure and stress he must be feeling but he’s pushing through it for the sake of our choir.”
According to Cave, his students and their families were remarkably eager to reschedule other plans to assure that they could make it to Italy.
“I know many of the Creek 21 families have had to re-arrange or work around other family plans already set for the summer,” he said. “I was really blown away, however, at the willingness to alter those plans to help give the kids this experience.”
