The Spalding music department has had years upon years of trips for the WorldStrides music competitions. The students compete at high levels with other high schools across the country to win awards with their ensembles. Music students describe the annual trip as the most exciting and memorable experience of each year.
The destination brings so much fun to the trips and is looked forward to by music students every year. However, it is not just a vacation for the students! They all perform in front of three professional judges who score their performances. Each ensemble performs one day of the trip, then later on at the awards ceremony, receives a rating and placement in their categories.
The Spalding Music Administrators work very hard to plan these trips for the students each year. Mrs. Debra Curry is the coordinator for the trip along with Mr. Sturgis, Mr. Heming, and Mr. Shatt preparing the music with the ensembles in the months leading up to the trip.
In 2022, the Music department took the 10-hour drive down to Nashville, Tennessee. They had competitions that were running throughout the day at a local high school. They ventured through downtown Nashville and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. The tour boat with live music was their ride down to the awards ceremony where they picked up some hardware! This was the perfect destination for music students because live music was everywhere. The awards ceremony featured an up-and-coming country artist named Preston James. He performed for over a thousand high school music students from all over the country who were celebrating the competition the day before. 2022 was a very successful year for Spalding music, with four ensembles earning a “Gold” rating for their performance and
four ensembles earning a Silver. The Jazz Cavs and Guitar Ensemble won first place in their categories. The Guitar Ensemble won an “Adjudicator award” for one of the highest-scored performances by the judges.
The 2023 Destination was warm and sunny Orlando, Florida! The students on this trip enjoyed full days in Universal Studios riding rollercoasters all day and hanging out at the Cabana Bay resort. The performances took place in the parks for instrumental groups and the choral performances were at a local church. The awards ceremony was held at a stage in the parks with all of the schools that competed in attendance.
Spalding Music had four individual award winners in 2023! The ensembles had an awesome run with nine ensembles receiving a “silver” rating and the Wind Ensemble grabbing first place in their category!
Spalding has had tons of success in these competitions not only with the ensembles as a whole but individually as well. There is one special individual award called the “Maestro Award”. This award is given to students who have an exceptional performance in their ensemble. In the past two years, we have had 5 students win individual awards at the competitions!
The students who have won these awards are recognized for their hard work and talent in the competitions. They all are very dedicated to their studies and music. These students answered a few questions about the music trip and their journey in the music department over the last few years.
Matthew Earl ‘24
Maestro Award Winner 2023
Matthew is a current senior at Spalding in the class of 2024. Matt is very involved with the chorus groups and musical theatre. He has been in many musicals in the last four years including The Little Mermaid, The Addams Family, Anything Goes, and now the upcoming production of Anastasia. Through these shows, he has shown his immense talent and passion for performing. Aside from choral ensembles and musical theatre, Matt is also a part of Liturgy Music and sings at school-wide Masses.
Q: What ensembles/areas of the Spalding music department have you been involved in?
A: I am involved with Mixed Chorus, Chromosome Y, Vocal Ensemble, and my personal favorite, Jazz Harmony!
Q: What is your favorite part of the music trip?
A: My favorite part of the music trip was when I pretended that I was British and had never been on a water slide before, and then I went down the water slide and screamed as loudly as I could! It was very fun and the reactions to it made it even better.
Q: Do you plan on continuing music in the future/pursue music in college? If so what will you be doing?
A: Yes! I plan on studying Musical Theater in college. I don’t know which college yet because I am currently still in the audition phase, but I hope to hear something soon!
Joe Robuck ‘23
Maestro Award Winner 2022, 2023
Joe is a Spalding music alumnus and current freshman at Notre Dame studying Biological Sciences and minoring in Liturgical Music Ministry. Joe was an active member of ensembles playing piano throughout his years in high school and a phenomenal accompanist for choral groups. He was also involved in Liturgical Music and was a Eucharistic Minister, arranging psalms and playing the classic “Alma Mater” that is sung by the student body at every Mass. He was a very involved member of the music department as the Tri-M President during his senior year.
Q: Do you pursue anything musical in college?
A: My life wouldn’t be complete without music, so I had to pursue it in college. On a whim, I tried out for the ND Folk Choir, and since officially joining it last August, the community it has given me has really made my college experience unparalleled. Additionally, I’m playing piano for my Sunday dorm Masses (it wouldn’t be ND without chapels in every residence hall) and taking on a minor in Liturgical Music Ministry. I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunities that have come to me.
Q: How have you enjoyed the music trips in years past? What was your favorite trip?
A: Though COVID only allowed me to attend two of them, the Spalding music trips were undoubtedly the highlight of my high school years. They gave me an incredible chance to meet new people and grow closer to all the talented musicians around me. Though both proved to be really awesome experiences, Orlando has my heart—getting to enjoy warm weather, stellar performances, and amusement parks with my brother and best friends was pretty unmatched.
Q: What is your experience with music so far?
A: At Spalding, I participated in the Liturgical Choir, Jazz Band, and Performance Ensemble, and I accompanied Chromosome Y, the Women’s Chorus, the Vocal Ensemble, and solo singers on the piano. I was a Tri-M member during my junior year, served as Tri-M president during my senior year, and took music technology, theory, and chorus classes throughout high school. Since the start of college, I’ve been a member of the ND Folk Choir, the Mass accompanist and liturgical director for St. Edward’s Hall, and a volunteer for the Music is Medicine club, which devotes itself to providing therapeutic care for the sick and elderly through music.
Sasha Russey ‘26
Maestro Award Winner 2023
Sasha has been an integral part of many ensembles since the beginning of his freshman year. He is a phenomenal pianist/accompanist and continually proves his talent and work ethic. Aside from all he does in ensembles, Sasha is also a part of Liturgical Music and plays the classic “Alma Mater” for the school to sing along after Mass.
Q: What ensembles/areas of the Spalding music department have you been involved in?
A: During my time at Spalding, I have been in the Symphonic Band & Wind Ensemble, Chorus + extracurricular chorus (accompaniment), Jazz Band, Pit Orchestra, and Liturgical music group.
Q: What is your favorite part of the music trip?
A: Universal in Orlando was a first-time experience for me and I really enjoyed it. I loved the rides and food there, and winning the award after we played was the cherry on top. However, the vibraphone I used during our jazz band performance broke mid-song, so I had to improvise a little bit!
Q: Do you plan on continuing music in the future/pursue music in college?
A: I may try to get into musical composition/production, as it is a lot of fun to me. I have started composing full scores recently, whether it’s a jazz big band score or a full classical orchestral score (it has a choir too!)
Isabelle Salazar ‘25
Maestro Award Winner 2023
Isabelle plays the flute and is a part of the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Pit Orchestra. Isabelle is very versatile and has learned piccolo, picked up alto saxophone, and currently plays in the Jazz Lab. Isabella is a hard worker and is very dedicated to the music program.
Q: What ensembles of the Spalding music department have you been involved in?
A: I was a part of the symphonic band in my freshman and sophomore years and this year I’m in the wind ensemble and jazz band.
Q: What is your favorite part of the music trip?
A: My favorite part of the music trip is always the bus ride there. When I walk into the bus I never know where I’m going to sit and I always end up meeting and talking to new people. The awards ceremony is always exciting as well. I remember not expecting to be called up to the stage and I almost ended up tripping while I was running down the aisle from being so nervous.
Q: Do you plan on continuing music in the future/pursue music in college?
A: I plan on continuing music in college and I’m considering making it my major.
Tre Studgeon ‘22
Ovation Award Winner
In his years at Spalding, Tre played in Jazz Cavs, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic band, and he was the Tri-M President. Tre is described as a mature leader among his classmates and friends in the music department. He played trombone in the ensembles. Tre has gone above and beyond to become the accomplished person he is today and is a known leader at Spalding.
Q: Do you pursue anything musical in college? If so, what do you do?
A: I still do music in college in multiple ways. I mainly play in an extracurricular band called Black Raspberry which is an all-black band at my school that does mostly RnB covers. I have also taken music classes in the form of Korean drumming and I plan to do jazz band at some point.
Q: What was your favorite part about the music trips? What was your favorite trip?
A: I only ever went on one music trip which was the Nashville one. The funniest story I have is probably when looking for food, my friend Joey led us into a one-hour circle for the “best burgers in Nashville” It was good… but not worth it.
Q: Which music ensembles and extracurriculars were you a part of at Spalding?
A: At Spalding, I was a part of the Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Big Band, and pit band for Addams Family.
