Kaylee Chyma (left), Wyatt Hintermeister (center) and Lauren Gumm (right) will be touring Europe in the summer of 2016 as part of the Iowa Ambassadors of Music European Concert Tour. The three are current students at South Tama County High School. Chronicle Photo/Allison Graham

England, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and Germany. Seven countries, 16 days, and three South Tama students to take Europe by storm.

Lauren Gumm, Wyatt Hintermeister, and Kaylee Chyma were nominated by STC Choir Director Chris McFate and STC Band Instructor Mike Carnahan for the trip of a lifetime. The trio will be representing South Tama and the great state of Iowa by participating in the Iowa Ambassadors of Music European Concert Tour.

The trip is set to take place from July 3 – July 18, 2016 and is organized by Voyageurs International Ltd. Voyageurs is celebrating their 46th year of organizing tours to Europe, Asia and other parts of the world as well as all over the United States.

Gumm is the daughter of Brian and Erin Gumm of Toledo. She is an incoming sophomore at STC high school. She plays flute in the concert band. She is also involved in marching band, jazz band and pep band, as well as drama activities.

“I’m very excited to add to my knowledge of different cultures to better understand the world we live in,” said Gumm.

Chyma, the daughter of Steve and Tammy Chyma, has been playing the clarinet for four years. She has been involved in concert band and marching band. During the past school year she earned a Division 1 rating for her State band solo. She also received the Director’s Award of Merit this spring. Chyma views the Iowa Ambassadors of Music European Tour as a chance to enhance her musical abilities by being exposed to other cultures’ views and support for the fine arts. She is excited for this opportunity of a lifetime and is looking forward to performing for the different communities the group will visit during the tour.

Hintermeister is an incoming junior at STC. He is the son of Wendy and Kevin Hintermeister of Toledo. He is involved in drama, band, golf, speech. He can’t wait to travel and enjoy all of the countries he will be visiting.

“The idea of being able to learn about thousands of years of culture in three weeks astonishes me,” said Hintermeister.

The trip costs roughly $6195 and to help pay for the trip the students will be doing various fundraising projects throughout the next year.

Their first fundraiser will be at the Toledo Stoplight Festival on Friday, July 10. Gumm, Chyma and Hintermeister will have suitcases set up and people can purchase strips of tape to write messages that will be attached to the students’ luggage for the trip.

Also flags made by Linda Glendy will be available for order. The flags are for yard decoration and can be customized.

Next month the future travelers will host a garage sale at the Tama Civic Center on August 13-15. They are accepting donations for the garage sale. For more information or to donate contact Wendy Hintermeister at 515-238-5784.

Future fundraisers include Red Wheel, cookie dough sales, Rubes Steak and Scratch Cupcakes. Keep on eye out for future fundraisers.

While in Europe students will see many sights including the changing of the guards in England, the Eiffel Tour in France, travel to a picturesque town surrounded by the Alps in Switzerland, a day trip to Venice in Italy, and a tour of the historic Dachau or Munich concentration camps in Germany.