This year, the Collegedale Academy orchestra went on tour to Florida.

It is always an exciting time because, as orchestra member Sophomore Camden Griggs said, “It’s fun going to see different places and being able to skip out on school.”

But the main purpose of the trip was to be able to grow closer as a group and share God’s love through music.

On Thursday, the group went to Busch Gardens to celebrate their hard work. “I wasn’t a big fan of roller coasters, but my friends got me to ride even the scariest roller coaster there, the Sheikra. It was a fun experience,” Sophomore Adele Beaucicot said.

The next day, everyone woke up at 5:00 a.m. to travel to Forest Lake Academy to perform for the FLEC elementary and middle schools. Later on, we visited Wekiva State Park to swim in the clear springs.

By the end of the day, the orchestra had had four performances and one long rehearsal. Although it was a tiring day, it was rewarding to be able to play for people of all ages.

Junior Cameron Wilcox, the concertmaster of the orchestra, said, “It is more nerve wracking to perform for people our age than for younger kids, but it provides a different perspective.”

Sabbath morning, the orchestra provided the whole service at East Pasco church.

Junior Morgan Nash and Sophomore Hannah Moody spoke the night before at vespers and had the sermon for the church service.

At that point, their fellow classmates had heard the same sermon four times.

Even though I knew most of the words that they would say before they said them, I was able to receive a strong message each time they preached. The words they spoke hit me in a way that never has before and it has motivated me to act more like a Christian and spread love to everyone around me.

All in all, the trip was filled with many laughs, like when Junior Calvin Serban fell flat on his face while boarding down a pole on a hill and also when the song “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic was played every night as people tried to sleep. Serban also made a video of the trip!

While the tour has, unfortunately, come to an end, it certainly provided all of the members with memories that they will look back on for years to come.