Local high schoolers prepare to perform at Pearl Harbor

 

PLYMOUTH, Ind. -- Local high schoolers are embarking on a tropical trip to Hawaii and they're bringing their instruments.

"I never thought I was going to be able to go to Hawaii, like ever," says Niko Hamby, the Jimtown High School Marching Band drum major.

For some of these high schoolers, it's an opportunity they've clung onto for years.

"In fifth grade when they were presenting the idea of joining band to us, they were like "We went to Hawaii, but we haven't done that in a while so I wouldn't give your hopes up,' but here we are, we're doing it again," says Wyatt Libey, who plays trombone at Knox High School. "It's crazy, I never thought this was going to happen."

The marching bands from Knox, Plymouth, and Jimtown high schools are getting ready to pack their bags and instruments and hop on a flight to Honolulu where they will perform on the USS Missouri in the heart of Pearl Harbor.

It will be Jimtown's first ever trip together as a marching band.

"This is something that I don't' think we would have done as an individual band but it's really exciting that we get to do as a combined group and get to go and perform together," explains Kathy Baughman, the head director of the Jimtown High School Marching band.

"Just being one of the three schools in the area getting to go, it's a lot," Hamby admits.

It's common for marching bands to perform on the Battleship Missouri as a tribute to the nation and its fallen veterans, which for some students holds a special weight.

"I have two veterans in my family, and I told them about this, especially my grandpa, and he said, 'You're going to have an awesome trip, and I'm so proud of you,'" shares Emma Konefsky, who plays trombone at Plymouth High School.

With Monday night's rehearsal under their belt, the excitement for the trip is settling in as the countdown nears closer.

"I'm really excited," says Konefsky. "Hopefully I just make some new friends and enjoy this trip with them and hopefully we have a good time all together."

"They've worked really hard to be able to be at a level in which they can play and do something like this, so I'm really excited to showcase them and what they can do," Baughman says.

They leave on Sunday, March 17th and perform on the USS Missouri on that Tuesday, March 19th.

The performance will be live streamed on the Plymouth Band's Facebook page.