SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN TV) – The Riverview High Kiltie Band are finally taking a big trip they could have done years ago.
When the Riverview High Kiltie Band marched at the St. Paddy’s Parade in Boston last year for their big trip, the climate shock was real.
“It was so cold; I couldn’t feel my lips. It was hard to buzz and control my sound and my tuning,” said trumpet player and sophomore Tais Gadar.
And most of the kids had to use hand warmers.
“They actually gave it to us during the parade but, me being me, I was like, “Nah, I don’t need them. Watch this,” joked band secretary and junior Angel Negroni.
Negroni felt silly in Boston, but he feels like a genius about their trip next school year. Why’s that?
The Kiltie Band was invited by the London New Year’s Day Parade to perform Jan. 1, 2025. And days prior to the reveal, the Kiltie band’s Instagram page posted a picture of luggage.
“It had a bunch of stickers, and there was only one sticker that had London on it,” Negroni remembered.
But many students thought this would be a big trip to Scotland, given the Scottish roots of the Kiltie band. Negroni pointed to the London sticker, saying the band’s Instagram gave the trip away, but the other students said the picture was probably
“And I said stop being in denial! It’s not Scotland! The hint’s right there!” Negroni said.
In September, he was proven right; it was made official after a visit from the London New Year’s Day Parade folks themselves. And while Angel and Tais will be going, the seniors this year obviously can’t, and band director Tamara Lewis tells me, they almost did go years back.
“The band received the invitation in 2020,” Lewis said.
Then the coronavirus shut the world down. London didn’t happen.
“We’re finally able to get back to traveling overseas and unfortunately the seniors, who were freshmen then, are going to miss out,” Lewis explained.
But this year’s seniors did go to Boston for last year’s trip, and London’s still going to be there down the line. For now, the younger students have to get their own paperwork done.
“So many of our students haven’t been overseas. They’re getting their passports for the first time,” said Lewis.
And they’ll experience another culture firsthand.
“You think they’d be similar because they speak the same language, but it could be so different. I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” Gadar said.
This trip costs $3,600 dollars per student, and the band boosters will try to provide 10 percent of that. Much of the rest will be raised by the students themselves who recently raised $5,000 from two trips to the Publix at the Landings in Sarasota.
For easy ways to donate, visit the Riverview High Kiltie Band’s website at rhskiltieband.net.