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Spain Park High School
"The Rome New Year's Parade was one of the highlights of my career. My students are still in awe of the experience. I have been traveling with bands for 20+ years and I can't say enough good things. I will be glad to travel with Gateway over and over. Thank you!!"
Mike Aycock, Director of Bands
Hoover, AL
Featured Destinations
TOURNAMENT OF ROSES
When the invitation arrives, make Gateway YOUR second call!
We're ready to help make the most of your trip to the Rose Bowl.
INTERNATIONAL BOWL GAMES
Bowl Games in foreign countries generate the same enthusiastic crowds as in the U.S. For many, the only ingredient missing to complete this "American football experience" has been American bands.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica isn’t just a getaway for two anymore! Consider a tropical tour for your ensemble, adding music to the mix of warm weather, untamed rainforests, and lively culture. Meld your performance with the sounds of the jungle in a place where music takes a seat at the head cultural table. Performing for welcoming, appreciative audiences is only the beginning. Ensembles delight in the thrill of this tropical location and grow through the opportunity to give back to its generous culture through instrument donations. A country vivacious, Costa Rica glows and hums with the life of the rainforest, boasting more species per square inch than anywhere else on Earth! Let Costa Rica enliven you and your music.
Music programs and educators in Costa Rica face a common problem, no instruments. In many areas teachers work part time or volunteer. They don't have the funding or resources necessary to put together a concert band or an orchestra.
Gateway's traveling ensembles have made efforts to gather instruments from their school and community to donate to the students in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican people are very warm and hospitable, it's a way to give back and bring music to their communities.
If you are considering Costa Rica, start organizing a donation now with a letter or email to the parents and businesses in your community. You will be amazed at how many instruments will come your way! Another way to donate is to prepare a monetary donation for a scholarship or teacher stipend. Contact Gateway to discuss how to get started!
Three Steps to a Perfect Tour
Our Costa Rican tour has been pleasing ensembles since its inception in 2007. Spring Lake Park High School Band, hailing from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, recently enjoyed a tour that balanced and combined fabulous performance opportunities and unique cultural experiences in a three-step process. Their case is our point in a model for a successful Costa Rican tour:
Step one: Work. (…insofar as sharing dazzling performances is work). These students performed at Hogar de Vida para Los Niños orphanage, Catedral of Ciudad Quesada, the Ampitheater at Punta Leona, and partook in a musical exchange at Conservatorio de Castella High School, experiencing the power of their music to cross cultural boundaries and bring people together.
Step two: Play. This group took a step back from their performances for a tour of the Poás Volcano National Park, a coffee plantation, and to do some horseback riding, white water rafting, snorkeling, and zip lining; they topped off their fun with leisure time at the beach and a rainforest walking tour.
Step three: Give. This ensemble took their tour one step further by choosing to make a meaningful impact on local schools in Costa Rica. They donated instruments to schools, helping them build music programs, and making this tour even more memorable for themselves and those they touched.
“Wow! What a fantastic time we had in Costa Rica! Brian Lukkasson and I were consistently amazed and surprised by the quality of the tour we just arrived back from! The quality of accommodations, the smoothness of each activity, the variety of food choices and the safety that all of us felt with bringing a group out of the U.S. for the first time was fantastic! Both Brian and I had anticipated several problems or issues that we might have in traveling to Costa Rica and traveling with a group to Central America and NONE of them came to fruition. Thank you so much for a fantastic and thoughtful tour! We would happily recommend Gateway, your representatives, and this specific tour to Costa Rica to any of our colleagues. We hope to be traveling again soon!”
Band Directors at Spring Lake Park High School, MN
Need more information?
Contact Gateway now! (800) 331-8579 | gmf@musicfestivals.com