A crescendo builds as mallets bounce off of metal and wood bars, gradually raising the volume of vibrations in the music room. Starting with silence to a rolling wave of music, the sounds intensify, and then cut off all at once. The percussion students in Squalicum High School band are practicing for a performance in the nation’s capital.
Squalicum High School’s Music Department is traveling to Washington, D.C. from March 29 to April 4 to perform at the 100th anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. They will have three opportunities to perform as part of the National Festival of the States on March 31, April 1 and April 2.
The trip will cost $1,860 for each student. Since some students don’t have the funds to make the full payment they are doing various fundraising events to generate money for the excursion. Hosting events that patrons pay to attend and selling products have been the main source of money raised.
The trip will be a fusion of musical performances and historical discoveries. Besides performing at the centennial celebration, the 108 students from Squalicum High School’s music department will visit famous sites, memorials and museums. They will also participate in master classes and get performance critiques.
“It’s so important to travel with your groups,” said Andrew Marshall, the choir director. “It’s more of an education than any of this in class stuff.”
Some of the students are learning about United States history in school, so they will be able to make connections between what they’re learning in class and the sites they visit in the nation’s capitol, Marshall said.
“It’s kind of cool to go see what I’m learning about,” said Chloe Hovind, a french horn player in the band who is taking AP U.S. History.
Marshall also explained how having a goal to perform really gets students to focus on perfecting their performances.
This will be the first time the concert band, concert choir and orchestra are doing a trip together as a department. They have been preparing for the trip since last spring and finalized their decision to visit Washington D.C. in September.
The music department teachers have set a goal as a department to do a big trip every three years so their students will get at least two chances to perform outside the local area while they are in high school. The teachers agree that travel is key to expanding students’ horizons.
“It’s really important for them to get that exposure in high school,” Reilly said.
The vast majority of students would not be able to go on the trip if it weren’t for fundraising according to Katherine Reilly, the band director.
“I wish we could provide the funds for all of our kids to go, but unfortunately it’s not possible,” Reilly said.
She said her students like doing group fundraising better than individual fundraising because they get to spend time with each other. On Friday, Feb. 24 the band hosted a “Kid’s Night Out” which was an opportunity for parents to bring their children to the high school for a night of fun for $15.
On Feb. 12 the music department performed at Birchwood Presbyterian Church as entertainment at a lasagna dinner and auction. They raised $6,000 at the event.
The students are also selling various products. The orchestra will start selling cookie dough next week. Choir students are going to sell tickets to a Bellingham Theater Guild show in March and will be able to keep all of the profits.
The five-week cherry blossom festival spanning from March 20 to April 27 is a celebration commemorating the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo, Japan to Washington, D.C. in 1912.
The three branches of the music department will perform “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Dry Your Tears Africa” together. The band, orchestra and choir all have individual pieces they will perform in Washington D.C. as well.
The tour and performances are arranged by Music Celebrations International, a performance tour organizing company that hosts the National Festival of the States as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. each year.
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