The U-High Jazz Band traveled to New Orleans from April 13-16 for the French Quarter Music Festival where they attended musical performances from different genres.

Francisco Dean, the instructor for jazz band, brought his students on this trip to take them to the birthplace of jazz and immerse them in the music.

“When you are listening to the music there, you are really just taking in a lot of the musical heritage and culture of that city,” Mr. Dean said. 

This annual trip has been happening for several years, but for the first time the trip included a musical performance at Preservation Hall and a visit to Whitney Plantation.

“To go visit Whitney Plantation, to learn more about the enslaved person,” Mr. Dean said, “was to try to get closer into their feelings and their sentiments about the emotion that was birthed into what we play today.”