MVHS Band Invited to Perform at Nation's Capitol

Memorial Day 2014 is a ways off, but the Crimson Cadets—Murrieta Valley High School’s marching band and color guard—are starting now in their fundraising efforts for a trip to Washington D.C.

The band and color guard has received a prestigious invitation to represent California during the National Festival of the States. The ceremonies, which span three days during Memorial Day weekend 2014, will be dedicated to the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II.

The 140 Murrieta Valley High School students will perform at the National World War II Memorial, at the Armed Forces Retirement Home and in the National Memorial Day Parade, MVHS Band Director Neil Anderson told Patch.

It is the first time in the school’s history to receive this honor, Anderson said. Over the course of the next several months, Anderson said he will be working on getting the kids invested in understanding the historical standpoint of their upcoming trip, as well as the significance.

“This isn’t just about the kids at Murrieta Valley,” Anderson said. “This is really about them representing their community, every single person who lives in Murrieta, who lives in the Valley.”

The entire trip—four nights and five days in the Washington, D.C. metro area as well as airfare—is expected to cost $1,700 per student for a total of $250,000.

“We had a parent meeting in mid-June and all of the parents know about the honor and invitation and are on board,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t my decision to make alone, so we went to the parents, students and district officials—we did the due diligence."

There is a fundraising meeting July 9 for band members and their parents, he said.

Anderson also invited community members to make donations toward the trip. For more information, he can be reached via email at nanderson@murrieta.k12.ca.us.

“As you can imagine, the transporting of 140 band and color guard students, along with equipment is not an easy task, nor a cheap one and we are reaching out to the community to help support this cause,” Anderson said. "There is going to be no try, we are going to do this. It is a huge honor."