Submitted photoSenior Sarah Hoepner did something a little out-of-the-ordinary last New Year’s Eve – she celebrated the dawning of 2008 with thousands of people in Rome, Italy, amid fireworks, cheering and champagne, all in the shadow of the ancient Colosseum.
One hundred and twenty of the revelers, including Hoepner, were members of the Blugold Marching Band, which took a 10-day performing and sightseeing tour in Italy and Greece over winter break.
At just $2400 a person, the all-inclusive trip was a whirlwind tour. The band also invited family and guests, bringing the total to 165 people.
Junior drum major and music education major Mike Renneke said the marching band had never taken a trip out of the Midwest before this year, but finally “took the plunge” and went for it.
The band left on Dec. 28 and spent Dec. 29 to Jan. 1 in Rome, Italy. There, they took a guided tour of the city and celebrated New Year’s Eve downtown.
The centerpiece of the band’s trip was its performance on St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City before and after the papal blessing on New Year’s Day. The Blugold marchers also took a day trip to Florence for another performance on Jan. 2 and then flew to Athens, Greece for another performance and touring, including a Mediterranean cruise of Greek islands, returning home on Jan. 6.
Jammin’ in Vatican City
When Pope Benedict XVI took the stage on Jan. 1, the Blugold Marching Band was there in full regalia.
Junior Craig Walker, a tuba player, said the band played the fanfare before the pope stepped up to do his papal blessing , and then performed their show.
“We were right in the mix of the action,” said senior trumpet player Cory Mack, of the jam-packed square. He said that with its bright uniforms and white plums, the band stood out on CNN coverage of the celebration.
The best part of performing was seeing the crowd’s reaction, said sophomore Lucy Marquardt, a piccolo player. In the United States, she said, marching bands are fairly common, while in Europe, it is out of the ordinary.
“We were rock stars,” agreed Renneke.
The color guard wasn’t even able to perform its routine to one of the band’s pieces in Vatican City because of the packed crowd, Hoepner said.
“They were right in our faces,” she said.
Mack agreed that the crowd loved the band, and it even demanded two encores, mobbing the members after the finished playing.
“We pop, lock and dropped it in the Vatican,” sophomore music education major and trombone player Bryce Bielec joked, referring to their rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back.”
But playing before a world icon such as the pope definitely made the experience even more special.
Renneke remembered thinking in disbelief that he would actually be in front of the pope.
“What am I going to do for New Year’s?” Renneke said, “I’m going to play for the pope.”
Not many people get to see the pope, Mack said, and even though he isn’t Catholic, he said it was still significant to be in the presence of a major world figure.
But for Hoepner, who is Catholic, it was personally significant to see the pope, she said. Band members’ guests could even attend the New Year’s mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica, she said, but the band had to do a parade at that time.
“The opportunity to see the leader of our religion was very special to me,” Hoepner said.
The music this year was challenging, Renneke said, because much of it wasn’t typical American music. The band learned traditionally European music so their foreign audiences could relate. However, this meant that the Eau Claire crowd didn’t recognize the band’s repertoire at last fall’s football games. So the European crowd’s response was refreshing, he said.
“It was a reaction we hadn’t seen all season,” Renneke said.
Besides the highlight performance in St. Peter’s Square, the band also performed on the Via della Conciliazione in Rome, put on a stage show at the Duomo in Florence, Italy and played at Syntagma (Constitution) Square in Athens, Greece.
“The performances are going to stay with me forever,” Marquardt said.
Ringing in ’08 at the Colosseum
An even more chaotic scene than New Year’s Day was the festivities on New Year’s Eve.
Renneke said there wasn’t an onstage countdown to midnight, but the hour was still celebrated in style.
“Rome caught fire,” said Bielec of the chaotic fireworks around the city.
“It looked like being in the city during World War II,” agreed Walker, who said that the whole skyline was lit up that night.
It was “raining champagne,” Bielec said, followed by “raining bottles” as people smashed them against buildings in celebration.
After the midnight celebration, there was a “mad rush” to the nearest metro station as people headed home. Band members joined thousands of revelers in the packed subway on the way back to their buses. Bielec said it was a little scary and very loud.
But Hoepner said she felt safe at the celebration, since it wasn’t as much of a “drunken party” like it would be in the United States. There were police to keep order, she said, though getting back to the metro was still a challenge.
Marquardt said experiencing New Year’s Eve in a “big, global city” such as Rome made the celebration even more fun.
A few glitches, but ‘no one died’
No trip will go off without a hitch, but the few unexpected events and delays usually turned out for the best.
For example, Walker said people on his tour bus ended up without a change of clothes one day, so they walked around in full uniform all day. Besides getting strange looks, he said they ran into a fellow Wisconsinite tourist who recognized the Blugold logo.
Renneke said the trip went smoother than he expected. With the combination of over a hundred American college students and more relaxed drinking laws, he said he expected problems. But the band members handled themselves very well, he said.
“It speaks of the maturity of the people,” he said.
Yet it was a little awkward to travel with so many people, Marquardt and Renneke said, since nearly 200 Americans are very noticeable and loud. As a result, the band sometimes split into smaller groups for sightseeing.
Flying with such a large group presented its own challenges. On the trip out, the weather caused a few delays and flight mix-ups. But everyone made it to Europe and back in one piece, and the only casualties were a few pieces of lost luggage and instruments, band members said.
And on the return trip, Mack said his flight literally started on fire, when an entertainment unit in First Class started smoking. Firemen stormed the plane, which landed on schedule, making a humorous end to the trip and some great photo opportunities, he said.
The smooth planning can also be attributed to the detailed organization of the trip. Director Randy Dickerson did a great job of putting the trip together, Mack said.
Renneke agreed, adding Dickerson does more than just direct the band, with duties ranging from arranging the music to choreographing the routines. The size of the band really demands a staff of six or seven, he said, but Dickerson does it all for the Blugolds.
“A marching band is not a democracy,” Renneke said with a smile, but he added Dickerson is not a dictator, either.
‘A trip of a lifetime’
Unexpected circumstances aside, now that they have had a taste of Europe, many band students said they would like to return.
“It was just so crazy how we could fit all those things into just 10 days,” Mack said, adding he liked seeing landmarks and places usually seen only in movies.
Bielec said he also appreciated seeing famous artwork by artists like Leonardo da Vinci in Florence, and a replica of the sculpture, “David.”
Walker said he enjoyed seeing the ancient buildings and landmarks across Italy and Greece, such as the Parthenon in Athens.
Most of hundreds of pictures Hoepner took on the trip were of the amazing architecture, she said. Hoepner said she found the Greek and Italian buildings “ornate and beautiful” both inside and out.
Besides the sights, the students also commented on the cultural diversity they experienced overseas.
Mack remembered dealing with the language barrier in Italy, when his group was overcharged by 30 euros at a restaurant. The restaurant owner repeated “Me confusi” over their check, which became a joke for the rest of the trip.
Bielec said he and a few friends went out in Greece one night to experience the nightlife.
“It was cool to actually be immersed with the locals,” he said, adding that they met a lot of people at the club.
But Bielec said he noticed a big difference in driving styles between the United States and Europe. Italians drive a lot of Smart Cars -and drive fast, he said.
Walker agreed that the traffic was a little scary, and they “took our lives into our hands when crossing the street.”
Hoepner said it was eye-opening experience in Greece to what foreigners feel when they are expected to learn English in the United States. She said that Greek symbols are impossible to decipher, so she can better appreciate the language barrier here at home.
With all the band members back in one piece, many agreed that the trip was worth the time, money and planning.
“Those memories will be with you forever,” Marquardt said.
