“Marching in a parade like this one is going to help us continue to grow as a family and help us improve our overall musicianship.”, said junior Gannon Ferneau, a trumpet player in the band, “I’m proud to be able to take part in this opportunity for myself, school, and community.” Above he is shown practicing for the upcoming trip. -Photo provided

Members from the South Tama High School Band and Choir will be heading to New York City tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23, and the groups hope to have a community send off in the High School Gym that evening at 7 p.m.

This will be the second time the STC Music Department has travelled to “The Big Apple”, having done so four years ago with a different group of students. The Music Department has been traveling to a major destination every four years for the past 12 years, having visited Washington, D.C. where the band was an Iowa Representative in the National Independence Day Parade; San Antonio, Texas; and the New York City trip from four years ago.

The itinerary for the 93 students and chaperones going will be packed full of exciting opportunities and experiences, including taking in one of the newest Broadway productions Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, attending a performance by the Blue Man Group, exploring the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Times Square, Chinatown, touring Radio City Music Hall, and many other things.

“I love that we are able to give our students these types of experiences and memories.”, says Band Director Mike Carnahan, “In a lot of cases, this could be the only time these students will get to travel this far or see New York City. And touring it as a performing group is very special with the things we are able to do.”

As for performances, each group has two performance opportunities. The choir will be performing at The Bowery Mission, one of NYC’s largest homeless centers and men’s shelter, and also at St. John The Divine Cathedral, one of the largest stone cathedrals in the US.

South Tama High School Marching Band. News-Herald/Allison Graham

The band will be making one performance during a pit-stop in Sandusky, Ohio at Cedar Point Amusement Park, where they will march around the park and the entire group will spend the day riding rides at the “roller coaster capital of the world”.

The other performance for the band will be as an entry in the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade in Queens. This will be the 90th anniversary of this parade, dubbed the largest Memorial Day Parade in the United States. The band will be marching in front of high ranking military officials as well as sharing the parade with dignitaries such as the Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York City. The parade is not televised, however there will be attempts made to stream it somehow so those interested back home might be able to catch a glimpse of it.

“I would like to say a huge thank you to our communities, all those who supported this wonderful opportunity for our students, and especially to the parents and the STC Music Boosters who helped us raise the necessary funds for this to become a reality.”, added Carnahan, “We had some businesses and families step forward to make some sizable donations, and we just simply couldn’t have done this without this amazing support. We appreciate you so much!”

The students will return home sometime on May 30, ready to resume life in our less hectic atmosphere.