Even in an economic downturn, band students from two Salinas-area high schools have managed to raise funds for trips to Washington, D.C., and China.
Twenty-three students from Everett Alvarez High School will leave this morning for Washington, D.C., and will perform Saturday morning in an Abraham Lincoln bicentennial concert at the Lincoln Memorial. They will return from their whirlwind tour Sunday evening, and are expected to be in class Monday morning.
About 90 students from North Monterey County High School, plus 60 parent chaperones, will leave March 31 for a 15-day trip to China, where they will perform at several locations throughout the country. The 2009 trip marks the third time since 2001 the band has traveled to China.
"I'm really excited," said Austria Cho, 16, the band's drum major. "I'm Chinese, and I've never been to China. I'm an Army brat and I've been to Korea but never to China."
Cho's mother, Army Lt. Col. America Cho, is stationed in Hawaii and will be stationed in Afghanistan later this year. Cho lives with her father, Tom Cho.
Cho's grandparents emigrated from southern
China. Her aunt, Alice Sullivan, will accompany her on the trip. This will also be Sullivan's first trip to China.
"I can't believe we're leaving in a week," Cho said. "I like reading historical fiction about Asian culture, and I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the culture."
"I'm always amazed to see how hard students and parents work to make the trip," said D.L. Johnson, director of bands for North Monterey County High School. "We've had difficulty all along this year, and it's been harder for corporations and companies supporting us."
To make up for the donation shortfall, band members and their parents turned to selling coffee, cookie dough and asking relatives for help.
About half of the students going on the trip received donations from outside Monterey County, which illustrates the breadth of fundraising required to meet the $3,400-per-person cost of the trip, Johnson said.
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