Alexis di Gregorio writes from Hawaii-
Wow. All I have to say is wow. The minute we got here I knew that this was going to be a trip I would never forget. The first morning we got here, everybody planned to go their separate ways. Then one person got an idea, and another followed suit…and pretty soon the entire band was taking a trip together to climb Diamond Head, a crater that has the most beautiful view of the entire island. I’ve never had so much fun with 41 people before! It was like an instant family. Soon after that everyone piled on their bathing suits and headed for the beach. A partially cloudy day with a single cloud in the sky. Pure paradise. However we had to go to bed early for the concert we had the next day: Aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.
That ship was singlehandedly the largest thing I have ever seen in my life. Right away, we got ready to perform. The wind was blowing, and everything was falling apart. But the people working on the ship helped us get ready, and we played. They gave us a flag that was flown on the Missouri that day. Tears welled in my eyes, because I was just so proud of this band. Every single student put their heart and soul into every song, and you could feel the energy. Shortly after, I met this man aboard the ship on tour. His name was literally max music, and he said that he had never heard a band perform like we did today, in his entire career working aboard the ship. That was the most rewarding remark that I have ever heard, and I’m sure there will be more in the days to come. Thank you to everybody who gave support, we as a band are forever indebted to you.
Alexis Di Gregorio
Student Director
Alto Saxophone
Docksiders In Hawaii
The Docksiders 2010 trip to Hawaii has been nothing short of a grand achievement. In a time when more and more people are losing jobs and in some cases homes this amazingly talented group of Gloucester’s youth along with their hard working and equally dedicated parents raised $65,000 for the experience of a life time. The Cape Ann community has been incredibly generous and is the backbone that supported this trip. Their love of the music and the understanding that 26 high school students would embark on a journey of which they will never forget inspired the Docksiders to rise to the challenge. The Docksiders consider themselves not as a band but as large family and as they learned in Hawaii the islanders all call each other cousin for they too consider themselves to be a large family. Since the fundraising began Cape Ann has done everything possible to help the band meet their goal; whether it is attending a concert, wine tasting, auction, or any of the other numerous events the band held. As a member of the Docksiders I have no hesitation to say that the Cape Ann community is our cousin and will be very proud to know that the Hawaiian people and tourists are amazed that our little home town could produce such talent and professionalism.
It would seem that the Docksiders had often been told they were “Gloucester’s Ambassadors” and that we hold a standard of excellence that the city welcomes its guests with. Well, during the trip to Honolulu Hawaii, it has become clear that we are indeed the ambassadors of our home. Since we set foot on the plane, everyone who has met the Docksiders has been deeply impressed with their moral being and excellent manners. We have been given the upmost respect to everyone we encounter and in doing so, have received the same. Our music has literally brought people to tears and yes, they also utter the same question, “is this really a high school band?” When people learn that we are from Gloucester, Massachusetts, they imagine our town as a peaceful quaint place where everybody is respectful and courteous so as you can see they are spot on. The more concerts we play here on the islands the more people come to see the next one and are constantly mesmerized by the elite sound of this band.
All in all the Docksiders have been welcomed with very wide open arms into the Hawaiian culture and are honored to be serving our community and making everyone proud back home. The hard work, long nights, and even a few tears were certainly worth the success we achieved here. This year the band adopted a quote as our motto, “We are going to relentlessly chase perfection knowing full well we will never catch it because nothing is perfect but we will relentlessly chase it because in doing so we will achieve excellence!”- Vince Lambardi. The Docksiders have achieved excellence and the people in Hawaii have seen that but what they can’t see is that we have accomplished so much because of where we are from. This band would not be where it is today and would not have it’s prestige if we didn’t have such a close knit community supporting us all the way.  So to our many wonderful friends back home I say Aloha from the Docksiders and we are forever thankful for what you have helped us accomplish!
Mike Schmorrow (senior)
Student Director
Trombone
Good Morning Gloucester 