THEATRE CLASSES AT THE DCPA

began to warm up for e Cork St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival.

e sound of drums and horns blasting “Hey Look Ma’ I made It” by Panic! At e Disco through the small streets of Cork grabbed the attention of the public. People from di erent countries came by to take pictures and videos of the marching band, color guard and baton twirler.

A news anchor and cameraman from TV 3 Ireland, Virgin Media Television came to spotlight the marching band. With the band playing “I Want You Back” by e Jackson 5, the color guard and baton twirler performed their routine as a sta member of the band was interviewed.

e marching band even went viral on Tik Tok.

When the parade nished, the orchestra was on their way to city hall to perform at a reception for the Lord Mayor of Cork.

“ ere were all these dignitaries from Cork that had come from the parade to hear this speech by the Mayor and some local music groups were also performing there,” said Orchestra Director Mindi Loewen.

e orchestra performed various pieces, including “American Landscape” by Soon Hee Newbold, “America’s Cup” by Alan Silva and a “La La Land” melody.

“It wasn’t like we were background music, it was more like we were the show and they were so kind and attentive and supportive. And it was really quite a spectacular event for the students to get to do,” said Loewen.

Before leaving Cork, the groups had the chance to walk around and experience Blarney Castle and Gardens, where many students lined up to kiss the Blarney Stone.

On the way to the next city, there was a stop at Bunratty Castle and

Folk Park in County Clare. On a ledge covered in green moss and in between old canons, the theater group took turns reciting Shakespeare on the entrance to the castle.

Limerick, Ireland e next set of performances took place in Limerick, starting with the theater group performing at the Milk Market. e orchestra and choir performed Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” together. e choir went on to perform with beautiful stained glass behind them.

As the rain poured down, the marching band embraced the weather - whether they wanted to or not - and prepared for the 51st Annual Limerick International Band Competition. Although everyone was soaking wet and cold, the band had fun randomly playing with another band and getting into a friendly drumline battle while waiting for the event to start.

“I was most proud of the band for battling through very cold temperatures and pouring down rain in Limerick, but still having a wonderful performance and earning ‘Best Youth Band’,” said Marching Band Director Keith Farmer.

After the marching band dried o , they went to St. Mary’s Cathedral to watch the orchestra and choir perform.

Galway,

Ireland

e groups enjoyed sightseeing and exploring some of the most famous landmarks such as the Cli s of Moher on their way to Galway.

Tucked away in a side street, in the Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, Grandview had the chance to watch the performing arts in Ireland. After Grandview’s musical theater performed numerous classic broadway pieces with multiple quick changes, a school musical theater group performed some of their more mellow pieces.

Following musical theater, the students got a taste of Irish culture as they listened to a group play their violins, banjo and utes. Students erupted with excitement as traditional Irish step dancing began.

e Grandview orchestra and choir then shared their pieces for the students and public of Galway.

homes, condos and apartments.

According to the authors of SB23213, some Colorado cities and counties have implemented zoning policies that decrease or completely bar the construction of multifamily housing.

Rep. Steven Woodrow, D-Denver, co-authored SB23-213 with Rep. Iman Jodeh, D-Arapahoe County, and Majority Leader Sen. Dominick Moreno, a District 21 Democrat covering Adams County, Commerce City, Federal Heights and Westminster.

Woodrow said while some communities have done an “exemplary” job at addressing a ordability, others have not and state intervention is required to stop the growing crisis where housing costs are at an all-time high and availability is at an all-time low.

“ is bill really does increase individual property rights,” Woodrow said. “If you are a property owner, you have the right to build an accessory dwelling unit and the government will not be able to prevent that. Some feel like we are taking away rights. We are adding to them. is bill will have some exibility, but it does set forth some minimum standards.”

Since the bill’s introduction, several Denver metro communities have passed resolutions to oppose the bill, including Westminster, Castle Rock, Lone Tree and Centennial. Other communities have said they may take similar votes.

At the center of the opposition is the plan for the state intervening in local development decisions, removing home rule authority. Home rule is a form or structure of governing dened by the citizens of a municipality or county that allows for more control over matters of local signi cance.

According to the proposed bill, municipalities will be required to submit land-use codes to the state. e state will review the proposed codes and if they are deemed insu cient, the state will impose its own codes.

Arapahoe County Commissioner Carrie Warren-Gully said the bill takes a one-size- ts-all approach and it will not work for all Colorado communities.

Woodrow said he disagrees, that the bill allows communities to develop and plan growth, but they have to meet minimum standards to avoid state intervention. He stressed the bill has tiers to address all populations, including suburban, urban and mountain towns.

“It is not a one-size- ts all,” he said. “ is only goes into e ect if a community refuses to adopt the (minimum) required standards. e only time you are a ected is if you decided to ignore it.” e reason the state is taking steps to intervene in local control is because of the excessive use of “exclusionary zoning,” by some Colorado communities, Woodrow said. Exclusionary zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a neighborhood. Oftentimes, these laws prohibit multifamily homes and set limits on building heights.

Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, said SB23-213 is a misguided piece of legislation that does nothing more than declare war on single family home construction.

“It’s built on a faulty premise that everyone wants to live in high density housing,” she said.

Frizell said if the Democratic-led legislation wanted to adequately address the housing crisis, it would focus on the impact fees and permit fees that cities and towns are charging developers.

Pointing to Castle Rock as an example, Frizell said home prices have skyrocketed due to the costs home builders are having to pay local entities to build. e construction of a multifamily building is more than $17,000 per unit, according to the fee schedule.

According to the fee sheet on the Town of Castle Rock website, a developer building a 2,000 square foot home can pay over $21,000 in impact fees, which includes a line item for parks and recreation, re protection, municipal facilities, police and transportation. at total does not include other required permit fees.

In drafting the legislation, Moreno said the authors looked at what other states have done, speci cally naming California and Oregon, which have also implemented landuse codes.

Moreno said the steps taken by both the Democratic-led states would not t Colorado’s current and future needs.

“(SB23-213) is drafted to provided local options for municipalities to choose from,” he said. “ is sets goals and gives choices on how to meet those goals. It’s easy. If (municipalities) don’t then the state will step in. ere is a bit more choice than other states.”

In its early stages, Moreno said lawmakers have agreed not to immediately take votes on the proposed legislation, instead opting on April 6 to listening to debate, concerns and ideas.

Moreno said he has heard complaints that the bill does not address a ordability enough. e Adams County senator said amendments are likely as the bill moves through the process.

Moreno said the bill does address a ordability in the area of availability. Moreno said it increases stock, which means added supply will drive down home prices.

According to a monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, the median price for a single-family home in February was around $600,000, a more than 5% decline from the month before. e median price for a condo was around $400,000 in February.

As amendments for better language, and clarifying information on water and infeasibility are already on the table, Rep. Mark Baisley, a District 4 Republican, which covers parts of Douglas County, Fremont County and Je erson County said he is “pleasantly surprised” that both Democrats and Republicans have expressed opposition to the bill’s current language.

Even with possible amendments coming to the bill, Baisley said it still wouldn’t work because the entire bill lacks “humility” and the only way to x it is to redo it completely. No matter what concessions are made in areas of a ordability and language, Baisley said at the core of the bill is taking away home rule, which likely will not be eliminated. e state intervening just means more government, more state oversight and less local control, Baisley said. at aspect alone makes the bill unlikely to ever be successful.

Woodrow said it is sweeping legislation and can take time, noting that success will be gauged in 10 or 12 months. Instead, he said this bill addresses current needs while allowing Colorado to grow in a more strategic way.

“I tried to get them ready for how great the acoustics are in Europe,” said Loewen. “ ey get that last note in that last song and it reverates through the hall; I try to get them ready for it and when it happens, as it did, every kid just lit up with a smile as soon as they heard the magic ray on the last note. ey get it. It cascades down like glitter. It’s amazing.”

Dublin, Ireland

Before departing for the last city, the groups fought harsh winds and rain while exploring the Kylemore Abbey and learning about sheep herding at Dan O’Hara’s Homestead.

Blue skies appeared for the performing arts last full day in Dublin.

As the sun shined through the stained glass and centered in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the choir’s voices echoed throughout the church. e high notes in “Northern Light” by Ola Gjeilo and the upbeat melody of “Battle of Jericho” by Moses Hogan enchanted the public.

“ e cathedral acoustic is such a unique thing,” said Choir Director

Darin Drown. “Most of the songs we sing are meant to be performed in the acoustic environment of the cathedral. We really need to use our eyes more than our ears in such an environment. You cannot trust your ears to tell you because of the echo.”

To celebrate a week’s worth of performances, students and sta took time to walk around Dublin before going to Taylors ree Rock for an evening lled with traditional Irish entertainment.

“ e last night’s dinner and entertainment was truly memorable and had the entire group up and out of their seats and dancing and singing along,” said Farmer.