Brookwood Band Spring Trip 2009 Information
Page last updated October 22.
The Package
NOTE: These plans are subject to change slightly, although the general framework of the trip is now set.
The trip will span five days and four nights. We'll travel by chartered motor coaches and spend the nights in hotels
Departure will be on Friday, April 3, the last day of school before
Spring Break. We plan to leave after 4th period, which means the
students have the chance to eat lunch and they will be counted as
present for the day. We'll board the buses at the school, and head
directly for Williamsburg, Virginia, arriving late Friday evening.
There we'll check into our hotel, get a night of rest, then spend
Saturday at Busch Gardens. Saturday night we'll go back to the hotel
(night #2), then head for Washington on Sunday morning.
Sunday will be devoted to tours of the monuments and points of
significance, including a spectacular night-time tour. Sunday night
we'll check into our hotel for night #3.
On Monday we'll have the opportunity to see the Smithsonian museums on
the National Mall, enjoy a sprawling Pizza Buffet for dinner, then we
hope to take in a performance of the amazing Simón Bolívar Youth
Orchestra. The New York Times says "Featured on CBS's 60 Minutes after their sold-out series of
concerts at Carnegie Hall (where tickets were scalped for $1,000), the
180-member Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of
Venezuela's unique and inspiring music education system. For 30 years,
"El Sistema" has been making classical musicians out of a
quarter-million young Venezuelan students, transforming the lives of
the nation's poorest youths. Among its most shining alumni is the
dazzling young conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who is taking the classical
music world by storm and was recently named Music Director of the Los
Angeles Philharmonic. Audiences around the world cannot get enough of
the youth orchestra with their "youthful enthusiasm, technical finesse,
and well-honed precision".
Monday night, it's back to the hotel for night #4, then on Tuesday
we're working on a private tour of the White House or the U.S.
Capital. (It's not finalized yet, but does look good...) After a very
special dinner on Tuesday we'll board the buses for our final night,
heading back South. We'll be back to the school Wednesday morning,
leaving a few more days for family plans during Spring Break.
As with any trip of this scale, some plans are subject to change, but
as they do we'll keep you informed. If we have to eliminate any part
of what we've described we'll substitute something of equal value in
its place.
The Cost
The trip cost
will be paid in three payments, as follows:
- An initial payment of $200 was due by October 15.
- The second payment of $250, will be due by December 15.
- The
final payment of $225 will be due on February 15.
The total cost of the trip will be $675
per traveler.
Payments
You can make your payments by credit card from the Spring Trip Payment Page.
Alternatively, you can send a check in to the Band Room, made out to BBA, and clearly indicating the student's name, graduation year, and "Spring Trip" on the face of the check. The check must be deposited into the BBA lockbox in the Band Room.
Finally, if you have sufficient money in your student account, trip payments can be made via student account transfer. To make payments in this way, parents should contact the treasurer.
Fine Print
- All payments are non-refundable once we have paid the
deposits to the trip providers. However, if you must cancel for any
reason we will assist you in finding someone who may purchase your
position on the list.
- The trip is a complete package. We cannot break out days or activities separately -- it's all-or-nothing.
- Family
members of band members may participate as well. The price will be
about $120 more if you want a single occupancy room. We'll provide
more specific pricing in a few days.
- Package includes bus
travel, hotel accommodations (quad-occupancy for students,
double-occupancy for adults), admission to all activities that are
scheduled as part of the trip (Busch Gardens and DC attractions if
admission is required), MOST of your meals (details coming in a few
days).
- Not included: spending money, souvenirs,
photos, snacks, items of a personal nature. We'll provide a
recommendation for how much spending money is appropriate later.
There will be a Trip Information meeting scheduled in early November. If you have questions before that, please email the trip staff !
We're looking forward to a great Spring Break with the Band!
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