This summer, the eight high school students of the Allegro Handbell Ensemble plan to tour Scotland and Ireland.
"Touring with Allegro is a special experience," says Lyndsey Notaro, an 11th grade student at Hinsdale Central High School. "We bond as a family, we meet local people, we share our music."
From June 9 to June 19, the group will visit several cities. They will perform their own program for most concerts, but also will team up with local and international handbell ensembles in a special concert in Scotland.
"We'll also be dedicating a day of our tour to giving service to a local community," says director Stephen Edwards.
One student, Grace Cook, says the tour will be a special trip for her. "My family is from Scotland," she said in a story appearing on the Chicago Tribune's website.
"I'm looking forward to playing music there and learning more about my heritage," Cook says. She is a first year student at Hinsdale Central.
Making it Happen
"The tour costs about $50,000 and we've raised about $30,000," says Hinsdale Central senior Matt Anderson. He and fellow students have been working hard to raise the funds for the trip. They gave a "sweet" fundraising concert on March 22 that raised $4,000 more toward the trip.
Now, the teens are asking the global community to contribute via the crowdfunding site Indiegogo.
The students put a lot of effort into raising funds specifically for their annual tours because they believe no student should miss out on the opportunity purely because of their financial situation.
"Since our group started touring in 1978 no student has ever paid a dime out of pocket. We raise all the funds by ourselves," says Anderson. Over the years, the ensemble has sold tons of groceries through the Market Day co-op, served countless pancake breakfasts, and performed paid concerts across the Midwest to raise enough to cover each tour's budget.
"These students take a lot of responsiblity," says Edwards. "I'm very proud of their work, both as leaders and as musicians."
"One of the most unique and valuable opportunities I've had was being a part of the Allegro Handbell Ensemble," says alumna Leah Tarabour. "I became so much more comfortable and confident performing for an audience because of [the group]."
The Allegro experience doesn't just teach lessons of musicianship and leadership, but also friendship.
"It is truly hard to describe the amount of fun I've associated with [Allegro] over the years," says Tarabour.
Special Thanks
Several generous donors have contributed to the 2015 European Concert Tour directly or at our Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. We give special thanks to:
Bronze Sponsors · $1,000 or more
- Richard A. Reck
- Mary Ellen Reck
- forzandoArts.com
- Anonymous at Indiegogo
"Low Bell" Sponsors · $100 or more
- "mjreedal" at Indiegogo
- Susan Krenz
- "brvaliant" at Indiegogo
- Eleanor Patterson
- Hinsdale Bank and Trust Company
- Ingram's Busy Bee Bakery
- Anonymous at Indiegogo
"High Bell" Sponsors · $50 or more
- Carl Wiltse
- Nancee Biank
- Mary Jaworski
- "jempax" at Indiegogo
- Lucy Tarabour
- Beth Bozeman
- Emilie Falc
"Handchime" Sponsors · $20 or more
- "Naphinhinsdale" at Indiegogo
- Christa Roehl
- Kevin and Becca Anderson
- Anonymous at Indiegogo
Shout Outs · $10 or more
- "loricsmall" at Indiegogo
- "macramehelen" at Indiegogo
- Anonymous at Indiegogo