Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /San Marino High School’s chamber and concert choirs traveled to Italy for a concert tour, and during their trip, students paid a visit to the Republic of San Marino. This occasion marks a first in SMUSD history. Students also visited tourist attractions like the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /Choir students from San Marino High School performed in many Italian venues over spring break, including Basilica di San Pietro.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /San Marino High School’s chamber and concert choirs traveled to Italy for a concert tour, and during their trip, students paid a visit to the Republic of San Marino. This occasion marks a first in SMUSD history. Students also visited tourist attractions like the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /Choir students from San Marino High School performed in many Italian venues over spring break, including Basilica di San Pietro.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /San Marino High School’s chamber and concert choirs traveled to Italy for a concert tour, and during their trip, students paid a visit to the Republic of San Marino. This occasion marks a first in SMUSD history. Students also visited tourist attractions like the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo in Venice.
Across the sea, more than 6,000 miles apart, two San Marinos — one being a city in California and the other a republic in Italy — have long cultivated deep roots, some of which have intertwined from afar.
The city of San Marino, located in the United States, was given its namesake after an influential family’s ranch of the same moniker.
Pioneer James De Barth Shorb and his wife, Maria Wilson, were given the land as a wedding gift. It was there that they established their home, built where the Huntington mansion stands today, and a 600-acre ranch, known as San Marino. However, the origin story doesn’t stop there. Shorb named the ranch after his grandfather’s Maryland plantation, where he spent much of his childhood. The plantation was inspired by the Republic of San Marino in Europe — a small but significant link that has connected the city and the republic for more than a century.
While the San Marino Unified School District campuses paused their typical routines over spring break, a cohort of students from San Marino High School made history as the first to step foot on the same land their city was indirectly named for.
The opportunity arose when the SMHS chamber and concert choirs, which travel internationally every two years, were preparing to set off on a tour of Italy. Planning the trip was a yearlong process.
The tour company, which the SMHS choirs have been working with on and off since 2007, had tried in years past to arrange for the two San Marinos to cross paths, but those plans never came to fruition — until now.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /Students from two different San Marinos — one from California and the other from Italy — become fast friends.
Fifty-six choir students, along with five parent chaperones and about 40 other family members, spent a week in Italy. The choirs did performances in Mantua, Venice, and the Republic of San Marino.
Instead of a traditional hotel, the travelers slept aboard a ship, the MS Michelangelo, as it sailed from one port to the next.
Choir director Derek Jamieson said coming out of the pandemic, he set his sights on taking his students to “especially iconic” destinations, with the previous tour happening in Paris in 2023. Though, he may have outdid himself with Italy, particularly with the first-ever visit to the Republic of San Marino.
“As our bus made its way up the windy road to Monte Titano, which is the namesake of our school mascot, you could feel the sense of purpose and pride for what we were about to do grow with each hairpin turn,” Jamieson said.
“The school facility itself is part of this ancient town built entirely from stone that sits at the top of the mountain. It looked a lot like Hogwarts from ‘Harry Potter.’ I overheard my students remark about how magical it felt just to be there.”
The San Marino Republic was named after Marino, a Dalmatian stonecutter who fled his coastal home during a Turkish invasion, seeking refuge in the rocky crags of Monte Titano, or Mount Titan in English, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.
Photo courtesy Derek Jamieson / Monte Titano stands tall amid the scenery of the Republic of San Marino.
In 1085, the monastery at Monte Titano canonized Marino, adding “san,” meaning “saint” in Italian, creating the name San Marino.
Upon its arrival, the SMHS contingent met with the Republic of San Marino’s hospitable leaders, including the minister of education and students from Liceo di San Marino, which translates to San Marino High School.
Jamieson also accepted the national flag, which he has saved a place to hang in the choir room back home. Additionally, a presentation that compared the history of the two San Marino school districts led by local students made the welcome all the more special. Some SMHS students even had the opportunity to be interviewed by a TV news station reporting on their visit.
SMHS senior Benjamin Miller said the magnitude of the moment when the two San Marinos came together took him by surprise.
“When our director, Derek Jamieson, informed us that we would be visiting San Marino while in Italy, I was not expecting a huge production,” Miller said. “I figured we would sing some of our repertoire, meet some of the students from San Marino, explore the city, and be on our way. While all of this still happened, it seemed to be a much bigger deal than anyone was expecting.”
Miller had only ever appeared on TV when marching in the 2025 Rose Parade. Though, he said, that sliver of limelight didn’t quite measure up.
“It was such a fun experience to actually be interviewed, with a microphone and everything, and even more fun to see the interview on the internet that night,” Miller said. “Of course they dubbed my response in Italian, but it made a very fun story to tell my family and friends back home in California.”
SMHS parent Becki Watlington, who served as a chaperone, said she was feeling the magic of San Marino while the choir students embraced every special moment that came their way.
Photo courtesy SMHS Choral Music /Choir students from San Marino High School performed in many Italian venues over spring break, including Basilica di San Pietro.
“Mr. J and the kids work so hard, and it was magical to watch them enjoy the fruits of their labor by singing in big, beautiful, historic cathedrals and other notable venues,” said Watlington, who praised Jamieson for always going “above and beyond” for his students.
Miller’s favorite venue of the tour was the Basilica of Saint Marinus.
“The most meaningful part of the San Marino trip was definitely being able to sing in the basilica,” Miller said. “Obviously, given that it was a choir trip, we sang many times; however, this was such a unique experience as we were the San Marino High School choir literally singing in San Marino. Not only that, but it was also so much fun to sing in the basilica because the acoustics were amazing and the surroundings were just so beautiful. I may be a Protestant, but I will say the Catholics certainly know how to build a church.”
Fully immersing himself with the scenery, Miller said the Republic of San Marino was a highlight of the trip.
Photo courtesy Derek Jamieson / Students have fun in each other's company in Italy.
“San Marino most certainly lived up to my expectations,” he said. “Being on the top of a mountain, the views were absolutely spectacular. One could see for miles in all directions, and the historic nature of the location only added to the charm.”
For the remaining time of their visit to the Italian republic, the students from both San Marinos bonded at a picnic at the park. SMHS students brought American candy and snacks, and other goods to exchange over shared conversations about their day-to-day lives. Local students, they learned, must hike uphill daily to attend their classes.
Students also collaborated on TikTok, making videos that brought smiles to their faces.
“They just got to be high school kids and have fun together,” Jamieson said. “The parent chaperones and I got a kick out of watching new friendships being made.”
PTA Council member Jocelyn Go Young, who helped to chaperone the trip, said she was glad to be a part of the enriching journey that benefited students in more ways than one.
“Chaperoning offers a unique perspective,” Young said. “It allows us to witness our students travel with grace and represent our school admirably. Through these experiences, they develop invaluable skills, such as smart traveling, adaptability, time management, teamwork, problem solving, cultural awareness and gratitude.”
Throughout their Italy tour, the SMHS choirs’ a cappella program featured primarily sacred music.
As the featured choir for Sunday Mass at the Duomo di Mantua, they performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Bogoroditse Devo,” Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina’s “Sicut Cervus” and Michael Trotta’s contemporary setting of “Jubilate Deo.”
Photo courtesy Becki Watlington / Sofia Rodriguez, Ava Newton and Sammy Rodriguez enjoy their downtime.
The program also included spirituals such as Moses Hogan’s “Hear My Prayer” and Arnold Sevier’s “Precious Lord.” Additional selections featured “Hela Rotan,” an Indonesian folk song, and Shawn Kirchner’s “Unclouded Day.”
Watlington said what sticks with her from the trip is the pride she continues to have for the students.
“I already knew this, but it was definitely reinforced — San Marino has the best kids,” she said. “They did such a great job of representing our town and school, and it was such a joy to be able to have a front row seat to it all.”
Reflecting on the trip, Jamieson said that the tour in Italy was an endeavor he was glad to share with his students and SMUSD family.
“I gained a neat sense of perspective on the history of both San Marinos,” he said. “Seeing in person the three ancient towers atop Monte Titano, as seen on the SMUSD logo, surrounded by this otherworldly landscape with the Adriatic sea to the east and the Apennines to the west, was really special. But mostly, having the opportunity to bring our choir all the way to the Republic of San Marino and have the chance to perform for our hosts in the Basilica of Saint Marinus was the most rewarding aspect of the whole trip.”
The choir director added that this cultural exchange will likely be a period of time students will long cherish.
Photo courtesy Becki Watlington / Choir director Derek Jamieson and Andy Bernstein, a parent chaperone, wear their new Republic of San Marino hats.
“I’m sure memories were made that I doubt the students will ever forget,” Jamieson said. “I think the students felt a tremendous sense of honor to be the first group from SMUSD to travel to the Republic of San Marino.”
SMUSD Superintendent Linda de la Torre said the district is committed to offering transformative educational opportunities that foster global citizenship, intellectual curiosity and personal growth.
“The opportunity for our San Marino High School students to travel to San Marino, Italy, over spring break was truly exceptional,” she said. “Engaging with the cultural and historical heritage of our district’s namesake provided a meaningful and enriching experience that extends learning beyond the classroom. It is unique experiences such as these that underscore why the San Marino Unified School District continues to be recognized as a premier destination district.”
