VENICE, Fla. (SNN TV) — An invitation brought validation and vindication.
“You guys are invited and you’re going to London. Thank you,” a guest from the U.K. told the band students last week.?
Six months ago, Venice High’s Director of Bands David Wing spoke with the London New Year’s Parade and learned that the Venice band was unofficially invited to perform in London on New Year’s Day, 2025.
“I did not seek this out,” said Venice High’s Director of Bands, David Wing. “They contacted me. Apparently, they heard about the great progress the band has been making.”
He told the kids the news and then conducted a big parent meeting during band camp. There was just one last task for the students before it was official.
“I asked them if they wanted to do this trip. I did a little Microsoft questionnaire because it’s a lot of money,” Wing explained. “I did not want to commit our band to doing it unless there was full buy-in, and we had full buy-in for the trip.”
Drum majors Francisco Macias and Cole Duncan said last week, representatives came to officially invite the band.
“Yeah, they flew in. They had their accents. Great accents,” Macias said.
“It is NOT hot and sunny and so on in London on Jan. 1,” one of the London New Year’s Parade representatives said to the kids. “Mind you, it’s not too cold either. On average, we have about 45, 50 degrees Fahrenheit those days. It’s cool for you; I know that, but it’s nothing for us.”
“We’ll see how that goes,” Macias said. “Anything under 70 is just cold.”
Macias and his junior class are, no surprise, excited about the trip. However, Cole’s a senior, class of 2024, and his class will be missing this trip.
“They’re my first four-year seniors and they’re a special group,” Wing said, “But we couldn’t raise the funds for a trip for this year. It takes at least a year and a half to [raise enough money].”
“I’m a little sad I can’t go but I’m excited for the band,” said Duncan. “I’ve been here four years now. It’s really exciting to see how far the band has come. We’re still proud of it.”
And that dedication will be needed to afford this trip.
“We need to raise $3,700 per kid and family member. We have some who can afford to go but we have kids who cannot because they’re working class families,” Wing explained. “so we’re going to be fundraising like crazy.”
Wing said he’s hoping for community support and sponsorships to help the program march to the finish line.
“The kids deserve this, and I’m proud to be their band director,” Wing told SNN.
If you’d like to help the Venice High band go to London on Jan. 1, 2025, you can visit vhsmusicboosters.com.