On September 30, Gorham Middle School (GMS) band director Kim Mathieu chaperoned a field trip for interested middle school band members to see the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) concert, “S Wonderful! A Gershwin Celebration.” The trip was made possible through fundraising as well as the PSO providing special discounted rates.

The concert focused on pieces written by American composer George Gershwin, ranging in music from the opera “Porgy and Bess” to the jazz piece “Rhapsody in Blue.” The GMS band is currently studying Gershwin and working on an arrangement titled “Gershwin Classics” for its winter concert in December, which inspired the idea for the trip. The concert included highlights from many of the pieces performed at the orchestra’s concert.

The 26 concert band students in attendance learned a lot from the performance. The students also got the chance to talk to some of the professional musicians, who said they loved playing Gershwin, and they encouraged the students to continue playing their music and pursue it more in the future.

“I went because I love hearing the orchestra play, and going with friends sounded like a lot of fun, which it was,” said Abby Ouellette, an eighth grade trombone player from the GMS band. “The musicians sounded amazing, and the conductor was funny. All of it was amazing, and it left me with a huge grin on my face,” she added.

“It was a truly wonderful performance,” said Mathieu, “and we are working on going to a performance of ‘Magic of Christmas’ in December.”