After nearly 25 years of teaching, I have taken my band students on trips to places like New York City, Boston, Disney World, New Orleans, Chicago, and Las Vegas almost every year. Each trip takes a great deal of work to prepare and fundraise for. At times I have felt more like an accountant, travel agent, and trinket and candy vendor than a music teacher – a feeling I would imagine many directors share. Here is an idea that may change the game for many of us struggling to plan the next big adventure.
A few years ago I started the Music is Art Youth Jazz Festival, which brings high school jazz bands to Buffalo for a two-day festival. During those two days we move students through different historical venues in Western New York, where they receive clinics, informational sessions on careers in the music industry, record at a professional studio, work with guest artists, perform in an historic venue, and more. I created this festival to satisfy my desires as a director wanting to get more out of a festival than to play, listen, and leave.
In 2013, freelance writer Sue Henninger traveled as a chaperone with the Charles O. Dickerson High School to our festival, and wrote an article for Ithaca Parent and Teen called “Playing It Forward: Making a Difference in Student’s Lives One Note at a Time.” In this article she praised the educational quality and value of their experience. This made me wonder why I had never considered developing an excellent short tour for my students in Western New York. I spent the next few years trying to imagine such a trip. I wanted an itinerary that was local, educational, and inexpensive.
Two of the allures to student travel are distance and familiarity. It has to be someplace they have not been to but have heard of, so they can generate a buzz among friends to get everyone on board. I felt the only way to pitch the idea of a local trip was to make it a Mystery Tour and not tell them where we were going. Do not try this if you are a new teacher. You have to have a track record of producing great travel experiences to have enough cache to pull this off.
In 2016 we welcomed a new orchestra teacher, Laura Jay, who was fresh out of college but had maturity and intelligence well beyond her years of experience. I discussed my idea of a mystery tour with her and together we came up with an exciting itinerary then went to work contacting all the places we wanted to visit. Our goal was to introduce our students to new cultures, history, and architecture and have a college experience all for under $200 per student.
Early in October we introduced the idea of a Mystery Tour to the band and orchestra students. We gave them an intent to travel form, which asked them for a $50 deposit on a trip that would take place during April break starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m. the next night. Total cost would be less than $200 including all meals, lodging, admissions, and transportation. Some students refused to sign up unless they knew where they were going. We told students it would be a surprise, but we would tell parents who wanted to know, as long as they swore to secrecy.
After we had the majority of the trip planned, I enlisted a local tour company to finalize the itinerary, payments, and logistics for us. This took a chunk of work off our plates and helped us anticipate potential problems, cover us with insurance, and gave us one point of contact.
For the trip, Mrs. Jay had put together a game for the students on the bus where they had to guess where each destination was after she gave some clues. She brought along some prizes that made it really fun for the kids.
A Frank Lloyd Wright building only five miles from the school made a perfect first-day attraction.
Day One Itinerary
Belly dancing at a studio around the corner from our school. None of the students had noticed it before, but they had a great time.
A tour of the Darwin D. Martin House, a crown jewel in the home portfolio of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is only five miles from our school.
A tour of our local public broadcasting studio, WNED, for students to learn a bit about the communications and broadcasting industry.
Lunch at the West Side Bazaar, an economic incubator for immigrants to learn how to run a business with the guidance of a team of professionals. Here we tasted foods from a dozen different countries but were still only six miles from school.
A concert at the local VA Hospital three miles from school.
Stay at the LeTourneau Christian Camp in Canandaigua, New York, which was 90 miles from school. Students had the full run of the camp, including paintball, a full rec room, a stage set up with backline for them to jam, campfires, dormitory rooms, and meals set on the picturesque banks of Canandaigua Lake.
Day Two Itinerary
We arrived at Canandaigua High School for a musical collaboration with the band and orchestra there. Band director Greg Kane and orchestra director Nicholas Dubin worked with us to coordinate a piece of music for everyone to rehearse together with students from each school alternating seats. We shared the cost of bringing in music leadership guru Ron Sutherland to work with everyone in music and leadership clinics.
We toured Finger Lakes Community College and found that they have an amazing state-of-the-art audio production facility and major program there that we never would have guessed existed. We ate lunch at their dining hall.
We then traveled to Rochester, New York to have clinics and a tour at Nazareth College. While the orchestra worked with Associate Professor Nancy Strelau, the band watched a rehearsal with the wind symphony under the direction of Assistant Professor Jared Chase, who also coordinated our visit. After dinner on campus, we then performed in an evening concert with the college band under the direction of Steven Zugelder. It was a terrific visit.
We did tell our parents that Nazareth College would be our final stop, so that they could join us for this concert. Several families did attend the concert, as it was only 45 minutes from home.
The trip was fun, educational, musical, and affordable, and it gave our students a unique view of their backyard. The final cost for the mystery tour was about $175 per person, but the experience was priceless.
The combined bands of Canandaigua High School and Kenmore East High School rehearse during a clinic by Ron Sutherland at Canandaigua High School.
