Redwood Ranger and Chamber Choir Share Students From New York

by Jenna Landin and Rach Vilhauer

Over Spring Break, Ranger and Chamber singers from the Redwood Choir Department had the opportunity to go to New York to perform, and tour the city.

When Ashlyn West ’23 talked about the trip she says, “I think that it was an amazing experience, not just because it was New York City but because the group of people in the choir are just phenomenal. I think it was an amazing last trip(of the year) to have with choir because everyone was just as passionate about the city as I was, and the bond created there while singing and exploring made me cherish the memories even more.”

Ashlyn West says that her favorite part was, “simply just walking around the city as well as taking the subway. Visiting the city has always been a dream for me, and just seeing all there is to see while walking to our destinations was truly amazing. I also loved watching the Broadway shows, Aladdin and Wicked” West says.

She says what she’ll miss most about New York is, “waking up every morning and seeing the buildings and city out the window of my hotel room. It was truly such a beautiful view to wake up to.”

Catherine West is Ashlyn’s mom who also went with the two choirs to New York as a chaperone. 

This was not her first time being a chaperone, Catherine West says, “I have attended several other Redwood Choir trips – from Disneyland weekend trips to my oldest’s New York City trip 5 years ago.”

Catherine West talks about the chaperoning experience as being, “present for the students in my group – making sure they had the best experience possible. I see it as being a “mom” to them while they are away.”

As a parent in New York Catherine West says that her favorite part was, “getting to know the students I didn’t know well  before and experience New York City through their eyes, and my daughter’s eyes was one of my favorite parts!  We saw many incredible sites, but in New York, seeing Broadway shows, witnessing the Statue of Liberty, and visiting the 9/11 Memorial are all incredible experiences. It was a bonus that since it’s a choir trip, we also got to hear them sing!”

Andrew Richardson ‘25 is a member of the Ranger Choir that went on the field trip.

When asked Richardson how the trip was he says, “It was fun, but we had to get up early.”

Richardson says the biggest difference between here and New York was that, “The buildings were so tall and the honking, I couldn’t sleep.”

The performances went, “Good, we got first place in Ranger choir.” says Richardson.

Tags: New York, ranger choir, Redwood, redwood choirs, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, rhs, visalia ca