(April 4, 2003) — A throng of Clark and Hoover students stood outside Schoenberg Hall at UCLA, anxiously awaiting the Turtle Island String Quartet performance. Despite the thick oak doors in front of the students and the incessant noise that plagued the atmosphere, the sounds of a variety of instruments dictated the scene. When the doors finally opened, the students were shocked to find that the variety of instruments that they thought they had heard were only three stringing instruments. By the end of this field trip, the students would learn of the more vibrant side of classical string instruments where a variety of musical styles could be produced. — A throng of Clark and Hoover students stood outside Schoenberg Hall at UCLA, anxiously awaiting the Turtle Island String Quartet performance. Despite the thick oak doors in front of the students and the incessant noise that plagued the atmosphere, the sounds of a variety of instruments dictated the scene. When the doors finally opened, the students were shocked to find that the variety of instruments that they thought they had heard were only three stringing instruments. By the end of this field trip, the students would learn of the more vibrant side of classical string instruments where a variety of musical styles could be produced. The field trip began with the quartet’s performance in Schoenberg Hall at UCLA. Through the concert, the Turtle Island group demonstrated how the right amount of creativity enables a quartet of strings or even a simple violin to produce a number of different genres in music. The quartet played a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, classic rock, and even hip-hop, all with just three different instruments: the violin, the viola, and the cello. The members of the quartet are violinists David Balakrishnan and Evan Price, violist Danny Seidenberg and cellist Mark Summer. Sophomore Ann Jun comments, “I felt inspired by the concert because the performers played their instruments so flexibly and creatively. If I were to listen to one of their CDs, I would not be able to tell that the music was played with classical instruments.” Seidenberg said that the group composes all the music that it performs. After the concert, the students headed towards UCLA’s student union for lunch. Craig Kupka, Hoover High School Orchestra’s conductor, thought that the unconventional atmosphere of the student union would give his students a taste of college life. After lunch, Kupka gave the students a tour of UCLA’s music department. The tour walked students through the main music hall and music library, which held an extensive collection of records, cassette tapes, and compact discs. In this tranquil building, students could hear faint sounds of organ music penetrating through the halls. Junior Nina Sanchez comments, ” The nature of UCLA’s environment was very different. The tour gave me a chance to see how college students act and it also gave me ideas on how things are different after high school.” The trip concluded with the students walking through the hall and exiting before a water fountain. Feeling inspired from the Turtle Island concert and the tranquil atmosphere, a few students began to play with their instruments. Kupka was pleased to see that the students love music so much that they had brought their instruments along.