The five Snohomish High students who recently performed music in several European countries stand in front of Swiss mountains.
Photo courtesy Liz Dickson
SNOHOMISH — Five Snohomish High School students have returned from a music trip that took them to perform across several European nations.
Logan Crain, Kole Dickson, Crystal Harkins, Ella Malk and Lily Storseth performed alongside 200 other Washington students in London, Paris, Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
The trip was part of the Washington Ambassadors of Music European Tour, a biennial program that gives Washington band, choir and orchestra students the chance to tour five countries in two weeks.
Dickson said he was honored to have been one of those selected from Snohomish. He was selected based on his merit from playing Alto Saxophone.
“One of the highlights from the trip was meeting new people,” Dickson said. “People from all over our state came together and rehearsed for a few days before heading to Europe. While in Europe, I came to know many of these people and got to experience many European sites and traditions.”
The students were recommended by their music teachers and later auditioned for placements within various performance groups.
“Travelers (and Snohomish High School students) performed for numerous enthusiastic crowds while visiting some of Europe’s most iconic landmarks that included Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, the Matterhorn, Dachau Concentration Camp and the Mirabell Gardens,” said Danh Pham, one of the trip’s main organizers and a conductor for Washington State University’s Symphony Orchestra.
Pham said the trip allowed students to grow and develop as musicians.
“Over the course of three weeks, starting with a pre-tour camp on the campus of WSU, students ‘came out of their shell’ in so many ways,” Pham said. “They grew as musicians, maturing with each performance. But most of all, they grew to appreciate their time with each other and themselves,” he said.
For the Snohomish students, this was a trip of a lifetime and they hope to use their journey to Europe to help enrich their experiences.
Tour organizers are already looking forward to the next Washington Ambassadors of Music tour scheduled for 2026.
