Orchestra Members Fundraise for Boston Trip

The first time freshman Sydney Crawford heard orchestra director Jonathan Lane talk about the spring orchestra trip to Boston was last spring.

“Mr. Lane asked us if we’d rather go to Boston or Philadelphia and everyone was like, ‘Boston!’ because there’s so much more in Boston and Philadelphia is boring,” Crawford said.

The trip, which will take place from March 31 to April 3 will include over 50 East orchestra members playing at the Heritage Music Festival, where high school orchestras from around the country come to compete. The group will be staying in a Holiday Inn hotel in Summerville, a city just outside of Boston.

Altogether, the trip will cost a total of around $700, not including the cost of food. Orchestra members have been paying throughout the year in small monthly fees.

“We had different fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for our own payment, and the rest of the money we have to use to pay for ourselves,” freshman orchestra member Maddie Howard said. “We have different times of payment. Last Monday was our last payment of $300.”

One major fundraiser was the Mission Valley eighth grade mixer. Other events to raise funds included a chocolate bar sale at the beginning of the school year and a poinsettia sale in November and December.

“That raised a ton of money, easily over a thousand dollars,” Crawford said.

Howard thinks the money and fundraising put towards the trip will be worth it because of the time she will get to spend with other orchestra members, especially staying in a hotel together for three nights.

“It’s going to be like one big sleep over,” Howard said. “Just being with everybody, it will be so much fun.”