BY JOHN CRAEMER
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
GREEN BAY – Over 40 high school students from the Appleton Area School District, Howard-Suamico School District and Green Bay Area Public Schools (GBAPS) joined forces in a partnership with Kaboom Collective, culminating in a professional concert alongside indie folk rock trio, The Accidentals, on April 11 at the Weidner Center.
“This collaboration with Kaboom Collective, has opened doors to unprecedented opportunities, allowing students to work alongside professionals in the music industry under the mentorship of a professional conductor,” a GBAPS release stated.
“Today is the culmination of a year and a half of planning and preparation. We have the pleasure of having three school districts collaborate’, said Lucinda Roberts, Fine Arts Institute coordinator at East High School.
The Kaboom Collective is a non-profit organization made up of awarding-winning music industry executives and professional audio technicians, music educators and artists spanning the spectrum of music genres.
“So the students have been working on the music since September,” Roberts said.
January through March the students traveled to each other’s school districts to practice.
“And then this week, the Kaboom Collective folks arrived,” she added.
“The kids get to meet students from other schools that have the same passion they do.
“It’s a labor of love, and to be able to give the kiddos these opportunities a memory of a lifetime. These are the things that can really be path-changing for a student.”