Twenty members of the Merrill High School Vocal Jayz traveled to New York City May 18-22 with MHS director, Mr. Jim Bjorklund, to participate in the National Festival Chorus. The members participated in a three-day choral workshop with two other high schools, culminating with their performance in prestigious Carnegie Hall. The chorus was conducted by composer/conductor Dr. Z. Randall Stroope of Oklahoma State University.
Jayz members also had the opportunity to take in the many sights of NYC, including a midnight cruise in New York Harbor that circled the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, China Town, Wall Street, Ground Zero, Central Park and Times Square. All members and chaperones attended the musical “Wicked” on Broadway and some attended other musicals and theater performances. Students and chaperones returned home exhausted but happy, having enjoyed the “city that doesn’t sleep.”