H-F Orchestra Spain Trip Fundraiser Set for Jan. 17

Say adios to your winter blues at the Homewood-Flossmoor High School Orchestra’s “Mid-Winter’s Fiesta” fundraising auction on Saturday, Jan. 17. The event is to raise money for the HF High School Orchestra’s 2015 tour to Spain.

The auction is an all-ages event, and an important way to show community support for HF High School’s unique 45-year history of world-wide music tours, according to event organizers.

“HF music students have performed in over 80 cities in 28 countries on five continents since the tours began in 1970,” said fundraising co-chair Sharon Bouchie. “HF is the only high school in Illinois that we know of with such a record of international performances.”

The top HF band, choir and orchestra groups rotate which group tours each year, usually on their Spring break. Representing HF on tour is an honor that each student invited has to earn by auditioning into top performance groups at the school and completing service hours. For many, the international tour caps a journey in music that began in 4th or 5th grade.

Over the 2015 Spring Break the Viking Orchestra will carry on the tradition by visiting the culturally rich cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Zaragoza. When the students are not rehearsing or performing, they will explore museums, monuments, historical sites, markets and local neighborhoods.

“But we can’t continue the tradition of sending our students abroad without community support. That’s why we’re hoping for a big turnout for the Fiesta” said HF Orchestra Director B.J. Engrav.

The Mid-Winter Fiesta starts at 6 p.m., January 17, 2015 in the HF cafeteria, located at 999 Kedzie Avenue, Flossmoor. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Among the items up for auction this year are four park hopper passes to Disneyworld, a handmade quilt celebrating this year’s tour, a vintage stained glass table lamp and a private 30-minute performance by two Chicago Lyric Opera performers.

The fundraising event will feature tapas or “small plates” of Spanish delicacies including paella, empanadas, and frittatas. Musical entertainment will be provided by tour students, HF’s Staff Infection, a band of HF teachers and students, and Thing 3, a local band consisting of parents of current and former tour participants. All proceeds from the event will go toward financing the tour to Spain.

The tour is sponsored by the Homewood-Flossmoor Fine and Performing Arts Council (HFFPAC), an independent organization to support local youth music programs, and HF Orchestra Parents United in Service, a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting the HF High School orchestra program.

For tickets or for more information, click here.