For over a decade the Hays High Orchestra has been going on their annual trip to the symphony.

The orchestra has traveled all over for the event.

“We have gone to Kansas City, Wichita, and Denver before,” orchestra instructor Joan Crull said.

“It’s been going on for a long time,” Crull said. “The HHS Orchestra has been doing this even before I got here 10 years ago.”

This year Mrs. Crull is taking her class to the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, who will be playing Gershwin and Rachmaninoff.

“The main purpose of out trip is to have a musical experience different than we usually have, and to me exposed to different kinds of music and places than Hays,” Crull said.

While the trip is meant for the students to experience a new type of music, it is also meant for the class to grow closer as a whole.

“The trip, like any we take, is also a bonding experience for the group,” Crull said.

Along with going to the symphony the orchestra plans on touring the U.S. Air Force Academy, and hiking around the Garden of the Gods. The group will also be visiting a mall on their trip.

The group, on average, has anywhere from 50-80 percent of the class take part in the trip.

“This year we have 43 of the 55 students going, along with 7 chaperones,” Crull said.

Crull said she believes the trip is sure to be a memorable one. “I’m very excited for the trip as I know we’ll have a great time,”

19kpotter@usd489.com