Nov. 26 Practice Cancelled

District 99 has cancelled all classes and co-curricular activities for Monday, November 26. This includes the London New Year's Day Parade practice scheduled for 6:30 - 8:30 PM.

We will extend one or more of our scheduled Saturday practices (Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 15) to make up for the lost instructional/practice minutes. We will message out an adjusted schedule as soon as we are able to confirm practice spaces.

In the meantime, stay safe, and work on memorizing your London music. That's a GREAT snow-day activity! 

Flight Group Airline Details

Thank you to all our families for their attendance at tonight's meeting, and your assistance in navigating a lot of paperwork/details!

THIS DOCUMENT was referenced tonight, but inadvertently omitted from your packet. The document contains the flight group airline details.

https://tinyurl.com/dgnLondonFlightDetails

Official Tour Itinerary via Google Calendar

You may now subscribe to the Tour Itinerary Google Calendar, and sync it with your smartphone, tablet, Chromebook, etc. Click HERE.

https://tinyurl.com/DGNLondonBandCalendar

Please note: With the exception of USA departure and arrival events, all times are pre-entered in GMT:00:00 (London Time). This will allow the events to appear in local time when a student musician's phone transitions to local time in London. 

London Practices Underway!

The DGN Trojan Marching Band held two special practices this week to begin learning their TV-Zone routine for the London New Year's Day Parade. The 2019 Parade will feature over 10,000 participants from the Unites States and countries throughout Europe. With a street audience of 500,000, and a TV audience that will exceed 300,000,000, band members are motivated to showcase their passion for music while representing Illinois in this prestigious international event. 

Box Lunch on New Year's Day

All London musicians are asked to register their January 1st Box Lunch preference using THIS form. Participants must be logged into their browser with their CSD99 credentials in order to complete the form.

https://tinyurl.com/paradeboxlunch

Please completed the form no later than Friday, November 9.

Final London Payments Due November 8

Final payment for the London New Year's Day Parade Tour is due Thursday, November 8.

Please CLICK HERE to log-in and make your payment.

When you log-in to your account, the payment portal will show your family the final balance due on your account.

Your family has the option of dividing up the remaining balance into smaller payments issued online between now and November 8, but it is very important that every participating student's account is paid in full by November 8. 

Passport / Medical Forms - Complete and Bring To Nov. 15 Meeting

We have two forms that should be printed at home and brought (already completed) to the mandatory participant/guardian tour meeting on Thursday, November 15 (7 PM). 

1) Passport Copy Form

2) Medical / Medical Insurance Card Copy Form

Families are asked to print these forms at home, and complete the forms prior to attending the meeting on November 15. Please note that you will need to make copies of your passport, and medical insurance cards, and attach them to our forms as instructed.

Parade Grandstand Seating On Sale via Ticketmaster

Are you making arrangements for your own independent trip to London in support of the DGN Band, and want to purchase Parade Grandstand Seats for the London New Year's Day Parade? Follow THIS link for ticket purchases. 

Note: If you are a member of the official DGN Band "TAG ALONG" tour, organized by Ms. Merilos, tickets for Grandstand Seats are already included in your package. You do NOT need to purchase tickets independently. 

The DGN Band "TAG ALONG" Tour Grandstand Seats are currently arranged for Grandstand #12, but this is subject to change.

Tickets are NOT required to view the parade. The majority of parade spectators will stand along the parade route. 

London Tour Practice Schedule

We have finalized the schedule for the Marching Band to practice in the Field House and on our Stadium Track in preparation for the London New Year's Day Parade performance. A series of required special rehearsals are needed to teach the TV Zone marching routine that will be broadcast world-wide to millions of viewers on January 1, 2019.

The following rehearsals will be held in preparation for the tour:

• Tuesday, November 6: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
• Thursday, November 8: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
• Tuesday, November 13: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
• Thursday, November 15: 7:00 PM - Required Parent/Guardian/Participant Meeting
• Monday, November 26: 6:30 - 8:30 PM
• Saturday, December 1: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Saturday, December 8: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• Saturday, December 15: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Cadogan Hall Concert Tickets Now On Sale

Are you making arrangements for your own independent trip to London in support of the DGN Band, and want to purchase tickets to hear the DGN Wind Ensemble at Cadogan Hall on Saturday, December 29 (7:30 PM)? Follow THIS link for independent ticket purchases. 

https://lnydp.com/festivals/concerts/

Note: If you are a member of the official DGN Band "TAG ALONG" tour, organized by Ms. Merilos, tickets to this concert are already included in your package. You do NOT need to purchase tickets independently. 

Also, DGN Band members do not need to purchase tickets. 

Express Roommate Requests by October 3

Students on tour will be housed - primarily - two persons in each room. Tour participants do not need to request a specific roommate, but if they would like to, they may do so using the link below.
Please read the following guidelines carefully:
Your submitted request MUST MATCH the request submitted by the person you wish to room with. For example:

If B. Teague submits a form that requests J. Smith as a roommate, and J. Smith submits a form that requests B. Teague, then the request will be considered by staff.

If P. Casey submits a form that requests C. Zaragoza as a roommate, but C. Zaragoza doesn't submit a roommate request (or requests a different person), then the request will not be considered by staff.

Roommates must be of the same biological gender. If there are any circumstances that you feel our staff should consider, relative to gender identity, you may speak to our staff privately.

Roommates may not be two persons who are currently, or were previously, in a known romantic relationship.

Requests do not guarantee assignment/placement. When considering roommate requests, staff decisions will be guided by demonstrated student behavior and responsibility of the individual(s) making the roommate request. Final roommate placements are at the discretion of the instructional staff charged with executing the tour.

Students who do not request a specific roommate will be assigned to room with someone that the staff feels will be compatible socially. Often we will pair students together who play the same instrument, or are in the same grade-level.

All roommate requests are due by Wednesday, October 3 at 9:00 PM.

All tour participants should CLICK HERE to fill out the Roommate Request survey. Please note that students must be signed-in with their CSD99 credentials to access the survey.

London Payment - $700 Due September 2

The next payment for the London New Year's Day Parade Tour ($700) is due Sunday, September 2.

Please CLICK HERE to log-in and make your payment.

As a reminder, travelers who are purchasing the "Land Only" package (meaning they are making private arrangements to fly to and from London with family members), should not pay more than $2,275 - total - into the online payment portal. 

Official Tour Dates Confirmed

The DGN Band London tour will depart Chicago on Wednesday, December 26, and will return to Chicago on Wednesday, January 2. 

Because of the size of our traveling group, we expect to be divided in at least two, if not three, flight groups. Specific flight details will be announced once we receive the information from our travel partner in October.

London Tour Rehearsals and Required Parent/Guardian Meeting - Save The Dates!

DGN Fine Arts has been working with the DGN Athletic Department to reserve space for the Marching Band to practice in the Field House and on our Stadium Track in preparation for the London New Year's Day Parade performance. A series of special rehearsals are needed to teach the TV Zone marching routine that will be broadcast world-wide to millions of viewers on January 1, 2019.

Please hold the following dates and times for our London Marching Band tour rehearsals. In some cases, as noted, we are asking musicians to hold windows of time that will be narrowed once we have confirmation of facility availability from the Athletic Department.

• Tuesday, November 6: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
• Thursday, November 8: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
• Tuesday, November 13: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
• Thursday, November 15: 7:00 PM - Required Parent/Guardian/Participant Meeting
• Monday, November 26: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
• Saturday, December 1: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM (specific practice time TBA)
• Saturday, December 8: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM (specific practice time TBA)
• Saturday, December 15: 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM (specific practice time TBA)

Required Passenger Survey Due August 1

Tour participant families are asked to check parent/guardian email accounts for new information, sent July 21, about a required Passenger Information Survey. This survey, which will need to be filled out collaboratively by participant and parent/guardian, must be completed no later than August 1.

We are not providing the link to the survey on this Blog post. You must access the survey from the email that was sent on July 21 to the parent/guardian email address. If your family did not receive the survey email, please contact Mr. Teague.

Thank you!

Logistics Meetings in London - Part 2

Meetings in London continued today, with a full slate of planning and instructions for the band directors who are bringing musicians to the 2019 LNYDP. 

In the morning we visited several concert halls that will host the London New Year's Festival "Music for London" gala concert series. I learned today that the DGN Wind Ensemble has been officially scheduled for the December 29th concert to be held at Cadogan Hall.  I am very excited about this because it is the same hall that our school played in 2010-11. This beautiful venue has a tremendous acoustic, and I was reminded of that this morning as I had the opportunity to hear a professional chamber ensemble doing a rehearsal on stage. Cadogan Hall is the home of the London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.



Following the tour of the concert venues, the band directors were led through a detailed walk of the parade route, and given very specific instructions about how the bands are to stage (pre-parade), move through the various turns, and finally how the TV Zone performance will be coordinated for a global TV audience that will reach hundreds of millions of spectators all over the world.  

Do you know the famous song, 'A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square?' It has been performed by many famous singers over the decades. I think my two favorite versions are Nat King Cole's, and the vocal ensemble Manhattan Transfer. Well, this is where the bands will line up on New Year's Day! (Here's a little history about the song, if you're interested.) We will also have our official photograph staged in this square before we step off for the parade performance.  

From Berkeley Square the band will move toward the Ritz Hotel, and then travel down the major boulevard toward Piccadilly Circus. From there we will turn down Waterloo Place and head toward the Guards Crimean War Memorial. 

Then on to the famous Trafalgar Square where thousands will watch the band make a turn toward the Houses of Parliament. (No, I'm not listening to music with earbuds; I am listening to the parade logistics director talk to our group through a "whisper guide," that allowed everyone in our group to hear him over the loud city traffic!)

Yesterday, when we took a bus tour of London, the guide shared this thought with the band directors: "It would be brilliant for you to manage your student's expectations about 'Big Ben' so they are not disappointed when they arrive in December." First, I love it when Brits use of the word "brilliant" instead of "smart." (I'm sure you will hear this repeatedly when you travel on the tour.) His point was that Big Ben, and portions of the Houses of Parliament, are undergoing major restorations that are long overdue. I was reminded of this today, as we walked down the parade route on Whitehall. Here is a picture of what Big Ben currently looks like:

So, you have been warned (and I am 'brilliant'!). Big Ben will not be your best photo-op for selfies on tour. But fear not, there are dozens of iconic/historical vistas that await you!

We concluded our parade walk in the TV Zone area, and we were given specific instructions about the set up of the grandstands, the dimensions of the performance area, and how the band is to coordinate the performance in this area. 

Click Here to view the parade route.

After a brief lunch break, I attended a four-hour planning meeting that consisted of round-table conversations with multiple stakeholders who will ensure the success of the LNYDP, and our tour:

• Concert Productions Team: This group manages the gala concert series as well as the musical performance aspect of the parade. We discussed literature, personnel numbers, instrumentation, percussion & harp rentals, and music timings. 
• Equipment & Transportation Team: Coordinating the shipment of our instruments and uniforms to England, and back.
• Group Organizer's Team: This group coordinates the placement of our "Tour Assistant." This person will be with us at all times, at the hotel, and coordinating our movement through every aspect of the itinerary
• Audio Walks: I met with the company that developed special digital audio guides that we will use during our tour.
• Communications / Web & Social Media: This group manages the worldwide distribution of the television broadcast, as well as the Social Media channels.
• Health and Safety: The LNYDP has outstanding plans in place to care for the welfare of all parade participants during their stay in London. These were reviewed in detail today. 
• International Transportation: I met with the woman who is coordinating our flights to and from London, and learned exactly which pieces of information she will need from us, and on what timetable, to be able to issue tickets. Our band is so large that we will need to be divided into at least two, if not three, different flights groups. 
• Itinerary: My final meeting was with the team that coordinates our itinerary, taking into account the special requests we have made for the tour. We covered the plan for each and every minute of our week in London, including menus, tours, ticketed events, and procedures for traveling throughout the city.

Logistics Meetings in London - Part 1

Greetings DGN Band families, and future world-travelers! This is Mr. Teague, reporting from London, where I am attending a series of meetings this week relative to our upcoming tour and performances in the London New Year's Day Parade Festival. 

This morning we met with the head of the Blue Badge Guides that will coordinate our tours of the city in late December. I am confident that our students will receive a first-class experience as they experience this great city. 

In the afternoon I had meetings with management of The Cumberland Hotel, which will be our home base for the duration of our stay. I was joined in these meetings by the Executive Director of the parade, as well as a music teacher from California. His band will also stay at The Cumberland. 

The Cumberland is a beautiful property, and located right in the heart of central London (Oxford Street). The rooms have just undergone a renovation, and are beautifully appointed. The room pictured in this post was the largest of the four rooms I've been shown. Many of our students will stay in "doubles," but in a room like this one the hotel will likely add a third bed to make the space a "triple." 

A very nice upgrade in the recent room renovation was the addition of electrical outlets that have direct USB ports. This makes charging phones and tablets super-easy, and limits the need to even bring converters on the trip. I also learned that every traveler in our band will have access to complimentary Wi-Fi in the hotel, which may eliminate the need for families to purchase international mobile phone plans. (We will discuss tech & communication recommendations in more detail next fall.)

Our hotel, The Cumberland, is a beautiful building with a long history in the city. However it has recently been purchased by Hard Rock Hotels, and will be re-branded as such in April of 2019. For those of you who are rock-n-roll fans or enjoy rock-music history, you might appreciate this fun fact: Room 5001 (overlooking Oxford Street) was the location of guitarist Jimi Hendrix final interview, within a week of his death. Hendrix was a frequent guest at this hotel. 

I am very pleased with the outcome of the meetings today. In addition to understanding the layout of the hotel and room configurations, I was shown all of the facilities that our band will use during our stay (rooms for instrument storage, the dining rooms, the ballroom where we will celebrate New Year's Eve, etc.).

Passports for London Tour

If a London touring musicians has not already obtained a valid passport, this is a reminder to make an application in the near future. 

Please remember, your passport must be valid for 6 months past our return date of January 2, 2019.  That means that the expiration date of the passport must be no earlier than July 3, 2019. If your student has a passport, but you are unsure of its expiration date, please take a moment to double-check it.  

You can apply for a passport at these following nearby locations:

Downers Grove Township
4340 Prince Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515

Downers Grove Post Office
920 Curtiss Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515

You are encouraged to read the paperwork requirements for making an application PRIOR to visiting the Post Office or DG Township. You will want to make sure you have all required papers in hand!

Families will be asked to provide to our school a photocopy of a valid passport at our next Parent/Guardian/Student tour meeting (which is likely to be scheduled in late September or early October). If a tour participant needs their first passport, or a new passport, please work on the application soon!

London Payment - $400 Due May 31

The next payment for the London New Year's Day Parade Tour ($400) is due Thursday, May 31.

Please CLICK HERE to log-in and make your payment.

London Payment - $400 Due February 28

The next payment for the London New Year's Day Parade Tour ($400) is due Wednesday, February 28. This payment is refundable through May 1, 2018.

Please CLICK HERE to log-in and make your payment.