The DGN Trojan Marching Band and Wind Ensemble have returned from an incredibly successful tour in England, with performances at the London New Year's Day Parade, and the LNYDP Concert Series at Cadogan Hall. On behalf of Mr. Smith, and the DGN Band's entire staff, I offer sincere congratulations to the student musicians who performed with passion, and comported themselves with first-class grace.
Video Coverage of the Parade
Most of our families have already seen the television broadcast video, but if you would like to view it again, or have a direct link for the future, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/DGNLondonParadeTVZone
Through The Eyes of a Trojan: The 2019 London New Year's Day Parade Experience
https://tinyurl.com/ThroughTheEyesOfATrojanLNYDP19
Ambassadorship
Before we left on this tour, Mr. Smith and I spoke at length with students about the important role they would play as United States ambassadors. Our hope was that DGN Band members would understand that their work in this realm was equally - if not more - important than the music they would share with audiences in London. It was clear that our students took our words to heart because their ambassadorship skills were nothing short of remarkable throughout the duration of the tour. Parents and family members, you have every right to be exceptionally proud of the way your students represented our community, state, and nation. Our entourage received compliments at every turn. Airline employees, fellow airplane passengers, Blue Badge Guides, coach drivers, hotel staff, museum staff, and parade organizers all shared compliments with our staff about members of the DGN Band.
With Appreciation
Mr. Smith and I would like to extend thanks to the parents, grandparents, and other family members associated with the DGN Bands, for your incredible support of this tour. Thank you tackling the financial burden that is associated with saving and fund-raising for an experience of this magnitude. Most importantly, thank you for entrusting our staff to look after and care for your children during our time in Europe.
To those family and friends that made the trip to London to cheer on our students, thank you! We could truly feel your love and support as we marched past the grandstands on Whitehall; it was a perfect energy-boost shortly before we entered the TV zone.
Our entire band program extends gratitude and thanks to Ms. Martha Merilos (DGN Social Studies, retired) and Ms. Sharon Mamula (DGN Student Activities) for their organization of the "Fan Trip" for family and friends who wanted to be with our students in London. Simply put, we could not have done it without them. Not only did they organize the logistics for the Fan Trip, but they stepped in to assist our band students in critically helpful and important ways. As an example, Ms. Merilos and Ms. Mamula took a taxi to The Cumberland Hotel on New Year's morning to pick up two sick students who did not have the ability to march the 2-mile parade. They looked after them at the Whitehall grandstands right up until the moment our band was approaching, and coordinated a way for the two students to enter the parade and join us for the final quarter-mile. This extra effort allowed these two students - who would have otherwise missed the entire parade - an opportunity to perform with the band in the TV zone. We are reminded of the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Thank you Martha, and Sharon, for your unrelenting dedication to DGN.
To those family and friends that followed along from home, thank you for doing so! Your messages, comments, Tweets, etc. were a large source of motivation for our students and staff throughout the entire week.
Thank you to the members of the Gaudete Brass Quintet for joining us at Cadogan Hall for the LNYDP Concert Series, and their incredible collaboration on the Bernstein MASS. How thrilling to have our performance recognized by LeonardBernstein.com as a part of the official #Bernstein100 movement! Thanks to the support of the District 99 Education Foundation, the DGN Friends of Fine Arts, and the Illinois Arts Council, this performance became a reality. We know it is a concert that our performing musicians, and the audience, will remember for a long time!
Thanks is extended to our DGN Band Alumni who continue to support our program's curriculum in a multitude of ways. Thank you for your messages of support and encouragement as our current students prepared for these important performances in London. And a special thanks to the alumni we saw on the streets of London during the tour and during the parade. Incredible to have you with us!
No tour is perfect for every participant. It's impossible to travel with a family of four or five people and not experience at least a few unexpected challenges or set-backs. Traveling with a family of 180 persons amplifies the likelihood for these kinds of road-bumps to emerge. Our students and staff were remarkable in the way they managed these hurdles; especially those who became ill on the tour. As I shared with the entire group on our last night in London, these set-backs will eventually be remembered as minor footnotes to what was otherwise an incredible performance tour. Still, I want to acknowledge that a small number of students had to summon the inner strength to muscle through some challenging illnesses. I was inspired by their commitment to the band, and the way in which they handled themselves at those low moments.
Finally, Mr. Smith and I wish to extend a very special thanks to our friends and colleagues who served as chaperones on this tour. They each, in their own way, brought talents and gifts to the experience that benefited our students immensely. All six of these persons (Ms. Peggy Sue Casey, Ms. Beth Lee, Mr. Alex Rivera, Ms. Janice Schwarze, Ms. Kristen Teague, Ms. Crystal Zaragoza) forfeited precious personal time with their own families - during the holidays - to make this tour a reality for a group of very appreciative high school musicians. They slept very little, yet supported students compassionately at every turn as if the musicians were their own children. We are eternally grateful, and we know the parents/guardians of these student musicians are as well!
In the days and weeks to come there may still be a few lingering follow-up announcements to make to Tour Participants or their families, and we will use the Remind system to share those as needed.
And one final reminder that there are many, many more photos of the tour available HERE.
Welcome home everyone, and thanks for an incredible adventure!
- Brayer Teague, January 3, 2019
