On March 17-18, 2023, the TCMS seventh and eighth-grade concert bands participated in the Tampa Bay Classic Music Festival. On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, the students attended the Broadway musical, “Wicked” at the Straz Center for Performing Arts in downtown Tampa. Saturday morning, March 18, the bands performed in the Tampa Bay Classic Music Festival at the University of South Florida. Both bands earned straight superior ratings for stage performance. Afterward, the students enjoyed the afternoon at Busch Gardens Theme Park.

The eighth-grade band director, William Majors stated, “It’s become a tradition to take a trip like this every other year so that our seventh and eighth graders can experience something both fun and educational. This is the first overnight spring trip we’ve taken since the pandemic. The format is intended to expose students to a premium quality musical experience, such as a symphony orchestra, or, as in this case, a Broadway musical. Our bands also perform for judges, receive ratings, and are given a brief clinic by one of the adjudicators. This year, our seventh-grade band received a clinic from Devin DeDon, former band director at Buchanan Middle School in Tampa, and our eighth-grade band received a clinic from Matthew McCutchen, Director of Bands at the University of South Florida.”

“We had a fantastic team of chaperones, directors, and professionals who helped make this trip a huge success! We are proud of the way our young people conducted themselves and know this will only be the first of many fun and educational opportunities they will have as band students,” stated Majors.

According to seventh-grade bass clarinetist player, Victoria Stewart, “The overall experience was truly amazing. Getting to hang out with friends and performing at a college was a lot of fun. The whole trip was just amazing and I thank everyone who helped make it happen."

Eighth-grade clarinetist, Emily Mainprize, exclaimed, “What better way to expand our musical knowledge than the “Wicked” musical we attended? It was full of amazing actors and catchy songs, then the next day we headed to the festival. We seemed to connect with each other and the judges gave great comments. Even better, we got to celebrate our success with a trip to Busch Gardens!"

Pictured below are the seventh and eighth-grade band students at Busch Gardens with their trophies.

Pictured below in the second image are students at the Straz Performing Arts Center waiting for "Wicked" to begin.

Pictured below in the third image is the seventh-grade band on stage at USF receiving clinic while the eighth-grade band looks on.