Learning in the World: Andover Bands Tour Iceland

From March 4 to March 11, a group of students from Phillips Academy Andover participated in Learning in the World’s Music Tour to Iceland. Students performed in two concerts in the city of Reykjavik and a third in the city of Vik. When they weren’t performing, students visited local sites and took part in guided walking tours. The itinerary included visits to Thingvellir National Park, Great Geysir, waterfalls, and glaciers and geothermal fields—and even a swim in the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa, a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The following article is excerpted from The Phillipian.

Strumming to a jazzy beat, Louis Aaron ’18, a guitar player in Jazz Band, noticed a young sleeping girl in the audience of the Saga Centre, a museum in Hvolsvöllur, Iceland. As the bands continued to perform “Some Skunk Funk” by the Brecker Brothers, the little girl, upon hearing the upbeat rhythm of the song, woke up from her nap and started jumping around the packed theater, pretending to play trumpet, as Aaron described to The Phillipian.

“No matter who you are, where you’re from, what language you speak, your foot’s gonna be tapping. You’re excited about it. [The little girl] just loved it. It’s a universally energetic song. It’s very fun,” said Aaron.

This performance was one of three that the Jazz Band, directed by Peter Cirelli, instructor in music, and concert Band, directed by Vincent Monaco, instructor in music, showcased on a week-long tour in Iceland during spring break. Organized by Holly Barnes, director of performance, the tour included three different venues: one in the Harpa Theater in Reykjavik, another in a church in Reykjavik, and the last in Hvolsvöllur’s Saga Centre.

“[Iceland’s] a destination that’s growing in popularity. Iceland’s main industry was fishing, but now tourism has taken over as their largest industry with fishing now second. So it’s become a really popular place to go and the more we looked at it, the more it appealed to us,” said Cirelli. Read the full article online.