WHS musicians perform in British Virgin Islands

Bake sales, car washes, T-shirt sales and a long list of odd jobs paved the way for 130 high school musicians from Wantagh to visit the British Virgin Islands and perform a concert at the Sir Rupert Brierclieffe Hall on March 2.

It wasn’t the first time Wantagh High School (WHS) students have made the trip. Roughly 10 years ago, they visited for a similar concert, according to Virgin Islands native Shonda Maduro, an agent with the New York-based tour company Four Winds Tour and Travels, which brought down the students in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Tortola.

The visiting students joined the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) band in a “reunion” performance that was attended by nearly 200 residents.

“Everyone was just into it,” Tina Mitchell, a tenth grade WHS student, said after the concert. “It’s great to be here and get away from all the snow and cold in New York.”

At the beginning of the concert, the ESHS band performed three classical pieces before the WHS choir took the stage clad in black-and-white outfits. Later, the ESHS band returned to the stage for a grand finale.