THE LAST NIGHT IN TAMPA

The time is now 11:38pm EST and all the students and chaperones have gone to sleep.  This is our last night in Tampa.  In just a few hours – at 4:15am – all of us are going to be meeting in the hotel lobby for a grab-and-go breakfast before getting on our charter buses to the airport.

As you saw in my last post, we decided to sit out from attending the Winners Concert at the Convention Center this afternoon to seize the two-hour opportunity to recharge and reorganize ourselves in time for dinner.  This was a wise last-minute change that was appreciated by students and chaperones/staff alike.  We had a GREAT time at dinner, which was held in a small ballroom in our hotel that had a large outdoor patio that looked over the river below it.  The students enjoyed a pizza buffet as the sun began to set.  It was beautiful.  The two hours of rest time really made a difference because everyone was all over the place!  Card games were played, arm-wrestling happened, all while enjoying the company of our good friends in Santiago Strings.  

After everyone finished their pizza, Mrs. Kroesen led us in two fun games – first, instrument recognition and then music trivia.  These two games have been in the Kroesen family for years, and if you know anything about the Kroesens, they take their music (and music education) very seriously and very enthusiastically!  Mrs. Kroesen split up the ensemble into four teams which were named Bach, Mozart, Handel, and Chopin (classical composers, appropriately).  For the hour and a half of game time, the students laughed endlessly!  Everyone in the room was having a great time watching the competition amongst the teams play out, poking fun at each other, learning about music, and most importantly, making memories to last a lifetime. 

This was the perfect way to wrap up this incredible tour.  Mrs. Kroesen’s warmth in engaging every student, her love of music education, and her lighthearted manner about her unites our Santiago Strings family.  Though all of us feel a little sad that this fun experience is coming to a close, I believe that we are all walking away as better friends, better musicians, and better people. 

Signing off for the night.  Expect a quick blog post from me during our layover in Houston and a couple posts on our facebook page.  I look forward to seeing you TOMORROW at the Pacific Symphony office.  Assuming all of our flights are on time, our buses are expected to arrive in Santa Ana at approx. 2pm PST.

-         -  Bella