In the early morning of Wednesday, March 19, 2025, over a hundred students piled onto buses headed for Atlanta. For the next six days, they would perform, compete, explore and create lasting memories.

After a 14-hour bus ride, multiple stops and a broken-down bus, the students arrived at the National Orchestra Festival. This was the start of the Pioneer Orchestra’s Atlanta/Nashville tour.

Pioneer took two groups to the festival, the Pioneer Repertoire Orchestra (PRO) and the Pioneer Symphonic Strings Orchestra (PSSO). PRO followed the festival track, where they performed a program consisting of many cultural and stylistic pieces. PSSO was on the competition track, meaning they presented their program to an audience and judges to compete against top orchestras across the country.

“The first time I played [my solo] I couldn’t hear myself over my own heartbeat and I was deadly terrified,” said PSSO violinist Shelley Ouyang. “But at the festival, seeing all the other orchestras, I was like, ‘We’re just here to have fun.’ We did all the work we could. I think it’s chaotic, it’s erratic, it’s scary sometimes, but in general, it’s just fun to make music together and share it with everyone.”

Pioneer wasn’t able to secure a place at the festival but learned a lot of valuable things from the competition.

“My friend got really mad about [not winning] the festival, and he thought Mr. Glawe’s (orchestra director) decision [to play certain pieces] was wrong,” said PRO violinist Leroy Li. “Then my other roommates said that’s not true. Mr. Glawe doesn’t crave winning. He craves for more of a friendship. And it taught me a really important lesson.”

After the festival, the Pioneer Orchestras headed to Nashville. Upon arrival, they had time to explore the city before experiencing some of Nashville’s nightlife.

“Our whole chaperone group went downtown and impulsively bought cowboy hats,” said bassist in PSSO, Fiona Cuneo. “We wore them out while trying to get into a place with live music that didn’t ID at the door. We failed at the live music, but it was still one of my favorite moments.”

They also saw performances by the Nashville Symphony and Girls Write Nashville, along with having the opportunity to participate in a songwriting workshop at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

PRO cellist Dylan Goldman found the workshop to be a favorite memory. The students discovered the process of songwriting by professional singer Meghan Linsey. Linsey took Pioneer Orchestras through the process as they created their own song.

“It was really cool to hear her describe her creative process and the tools she uses,” Goldman said. “Even more so when she let us do it. It feels incredibly riveting to know that our orchestra wrote lyrics and devised rhythms that can legitimately be listened to and enjoyed.”

The bus ride home was filled with chatters of excitement, exhaustion and new perspectives on music. Although Pioneer might not have won, the musicians learned a lot through the experiences, friendships and memories that students of the program will remember for years to come.