On October 28th, DHS hosted “Midwest goes Mideast,” a benefit concert designed to raise funds for the orchestra’s trip to Israel this spring.

The concert featured both the DHS orchestra and Barrington Youth Orchestra (BYO), as well as alumni guest stars Adam DeGraff and Anne Clark Kolb. The DHS Jazz Band was also featured. Another concert highlight was the Chicago Salaam Shalom Music Project, an interfaith group that plays authentic Middle Eastern music. Midwest goes Mideast raised approximately $3500.

“The proceeds from [the benefit concert] will go to bringing down the cost of the trip for the participants and towards establishing a scholarship fund for students who would otherwise be unable to go,” DHS orchestra director Ronald Velleuer said.

This spring, Velleuer will be taking the DHS Orchestra on a performance tour in Israel. Foreign performance tours aren’t too rare for high school orchestras, but this particular trip is unique because DHS and BYO will be the first American public high school performance groups to embark on a concert tour in Israel.

“I’d say I first started thinking about doing a big trip four years ago . . . I announced to the kids last year in January that Israel is where we were going to be going, assuming we got board approval”, Velleuer said. “The official request was processed through the board of education and was approved in July. So after we were officially approved in July, we started really working towards making that happen.”

Getting approval from the Board of Education was the first step of many involved in planning the trip. The process involved efforts on the part of many different people and a multitude of organizations, both in the U.S. and Israel. Velleuer has put in countless hours over the past year to ensure that the trip will be fun, safe and successful.

“I had a meeting down at the Israeli consulate with the Director of Cultural Affairs and the Director for Public Relations and we had an excellent conversation about the trip and about the people we want to make connections with. They also helped with connecting us with the Director of the Ministry of Tourism who has been helping us to locate some possible concert sites. I also contacted the U.S. embassy there, and they’re very excited about it as well”, Velleuer said.

Although this is an orchestra trip, it will involve far more than just concerts. The students who go on the trip will also visit a variety of important historical sites and will be given the opportunity to absorb Israeli culture. They plan to spend two days in Tel Aviv, three in Tiberius and five at Neve Shalom, a cooperative village jointly established by Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. Many of the students are excited about the prospect of learning more about the rich culture of Israel.

“I’m really excited to see Israel from the music perspective . . . I think it’s interesting because [Israel] has so much culture and has had such an influence on the music that we play. It basically shaped so much music all around the world and I think that’s a big part of the reason why we chose Israel”, DHS Senior and orchestra member Sarah Mason said.

In addition to concerts and cultural experiences, the orchestras are planning to meet and collaborate with Israeli orchestra students. They will perform a joint concert with students from the Thelma Yellin School for the Arts, a national high school that accepts talented students from all over Israel.
“Exchanges can take on all kinds of different forms. It can be as simple as meeting and greeting each other . . . or it can be as elaborate as a joint concert,” Velleuer said.

Although Israel is home to significant historical sites for a number of major religions, students have made the connection between Israel’s role as the Jewish homeland and Deerfield’s large Jewish population.

“It’s been interesting growing up surrounded by sort of a Jewish culture in Deerfield and you learn about it when it’s all around you, but then going to the place where it actually comes from, you know, the place you learn about in history class, is just awesome,” senior and orchestra member Dean Li said.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas over the summer raised concerns among some members of the Deerfield community about the safety of students embarking on this trip. These concerns were addressed and, for the most part, put to rest at a September 9th informational meeting.

“I mean, it’s Israel, there’s always conflict, but it’s not like we’re going to go to the places that have active conflict in them. Frankly, I think it’s going to be even safer this year, because now there are so many extra precautions because of what was going on there this summer and also, we know that if it was dangerous, they would stop the trip,” Mason said.

With the benefit concert now over, there are only about six months left until the orchestra departs for Israel. It is clear that, in their eyes, this trip will be a meaningful and enriching experience that they will never forget.

“It’s going to be very different and it’s going to be such a cool experience, because we’re actually going to be there over Passover. We’ve always said ‘next year in Jerusalem’ and now it will be this year in Jerusalem.” Mason said, in reference to the traditional closing words of a Passover seder.