The Heritage Festival is an event where a capella, orchestra, and band classes are allowed the opportunity to express themselves musically with other high schools throughout the country. Each class goes to a different event, usually in a different city.

Band director Andria Mullan said the festivals take place across the US in major cities from March through May every year. Orchestra and band went south to Hollywood, while a capella travelled across the country to New York City.

After the performances, the three adjudicators, typically college music professors, rate the groups and host a clinic afterward.

“Some choirs go specifically to win, but many go because it is a fun experience to stand up and compete in front of judges,” junior Eliza Lucas said, who went to New York for the a capella trip.

Orchestra member senior Alex Krenitsky appreciates that the Festival gives them a chance to be critiqued and taught by well-known musicians.

“We perform music that best meets the needs of the musicians in the group and highlights the strengths of the performers,” Mullan said. “Also, we recently have started to perform music from the previous semester and this has worked out very well for the group.”

This year the PHS Jazz Band and Symphonic Band tied for the highest Instrumental score at the festival. Freshman Taylor Beasley (alto sax) was recognized and received a Maestro Award for being an outstanding soloist.

Krenitsky and Lucas said directors Catherine DeVos and Joe Piazza choose the music that is performed to get a unique variety of styles.

“A huge benefit of the trip is the bonding that happens between students,” Mullan said. “The band class feels like a family, and the connections that students make within this group are often lasting friendships because of this type of activity.”

Lucas said she likes the trip because she gets to experience New York and still be around her friends.

“I like bonding with kids I usually don’t get to see outside of school,” Krenitsky said. “Being stuck in a bus with new faces for six hours is always fun.”

Not only did the a capella choir sing in New York, but they also went to two Broadway shows, visited the Empire State Building and went ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Meanwhile, orchestra saw Hollywood, visited Universal Studios and carried on the tradition of going to the restaurant Buca di Beppo.