Flights & Flight Groups Announced

This morning we received our flight information from Destination Events. Our students will be divided into two flight groups. Each flight group will be led by five adult chaperones. Please review a message sent to participant families via ParentSquare to view the flight itinerary, and to determine if your traveling musician is in Flight Group A (American Airlines) or Flight Group B (British Airways).

Outbound

Flight Group A: American Airlines Flight # 86 (Dec 27)

Arrive DGN  2:00 PM

Depart DGN  2:30 PM

Arrive O'Hare  3:15 PM

Depart O'Hare 6:14 PM

Arrive London 7:50 AM (Dec 28)

 

Flight Group B: British Airways Flight # 296 (Dec 27)

Arrive DGN  4:15 PM

Depart DGN  4:45 PM

Arrive O'Hare  5:30 PM

Depart O'Hare 8:30 PM

Arrive London 10:10 AM (Dec 28)

 

Inbound

Flight Group A: American Airlines Flight # 47 (Jan 3)

Depart London 11:55 AM

Arrive O'Hare 3:00 PM 

* Picked Up at O’Hare by Family or Friends 4:00 PM

 

Flight Group B: British Airways Flight # 297 (Jan 3)

Depart London 3:30 PM

Arrive O'Hare 6:20 PM 

* Picked Up at O’Hare by Family or Friends 7:20 PM

* Travelers must be picked up at O’Hare upon arrival back in the United States. There will be no bus transportation back to DGN.

Ordering London Tour Apparel

It is time to talk about London Tour Apparel! 

There are three different pieces of apparel that each traveling musician will need on tour:

1. Tour Shirt (Long sleeved black t-shirt, with printed logo)
2. Tour Jacket (Lined black rain coat, with embroidered logo)
3. Tour Beanie (Purple & Gray knit cap, with embroidered logo)

Thanks to generous underwriting by the DGN Friends of Fine Arts, as well as a private donor, we are able to completely cover the cost of both the Tour Jacket ($52) and the Tour Beanie ($10) for each traveling musician. These two items will be provided to each student at no additional cost. 

We learned recently that the cost of the Tour Shirt was not built-in to our tour package by Destination Events (something that had been included in previous London tours). For that reason, we must ask each participating family to order and pay for their Tour Shirt, online through Holy Cow Sports (a local business). The cost for the Tour Shirt will be $14 (tax included). Family members who would also like a shirt may feel free to order them at the same time the order is placed for their student!

What should you do next?

We have some very specific instructions that each traveling musician (and their guardians) should follow. Please CLICK HERE to access the instructions. 

Thank you for reading all of the instructions in the provided document, very carefully this weekend, and completing all steps by October 1st. 

Passport Copy - Submit to Fine Arts Office by September 9

Student Tour Participants and Tour Staff are asked to submit a photocopy of their passport to Mr. Hogg in the Fine Arts Office, beginning Tuesday, September 6. Please submit no later than Friday, September 9.

Please review the sample image HERE. (Do not cross out personal information in the copy you submit to our office.) Make sure to sign the passport before making and submitting the copy. Make sure that the copy you submit is clearly readable. 

We are aware of a small number of tour participants who are awaiting the arrival of their passport. If you have already communicated to us that you are waiting, you do not need to send another email or remind us. Please submit a copy of your passport to our office as soon as it arrives.

The Fine Arts Office is not collecting passport copies for adults participating in the Tag-Along tour. This request is only for student participants, and staff.

London Tour Roommate Preference Survey - Due Friday, September 9

*** DUE DATE: Friday, September 9 ***

All student tour participants should complete this form by Friday, September 9. Please complete the form, even if you do NOT have a roommate preference. 

You are not required to have a roommate preference - we expect there will be a large student group that is flexible!

Please note that we will do our best to accommodate requests, but we cannot guarantee anything. 

If you have a specific person or people you would like to room with, please make sure you are all writing down the same names for each person filling out the form. (You write theirs, they write yours.) This will help your chances, but again cannot guarantee, that you will be together.

You may see a list of all students participating in the tour, listed alphabetically by last name, by clicking HERE. [https://tinyurl.com/LondonTourStudentParticipants]

When you are ready to fill out the form, please go to THIS SURVEY. [tinyurl.com/LondonTourRoommatePreference]

Note: You must be logged into your CSD99 account to access these links.

Passenger Information Form - Due Thursday, September 1

The information requested in this survey will be used to produce a data base for all passengers participating in the Youth Music of the World Festival in Europe.

In particular it will be used to produce a passenger list for the airline(s) from which your travel tickets will be produced. It is therefore IMPERATIVE that all of the information you provide is completely accurate.

One form must be completed per traveler. 

Participating students should work in consort with their guardian to complete this information, no later than Thursday, September 1, 2023.

tinyurl.com/DGNLondon23PassengerInfoForm

Note: this specific form is collecting information for STUDENT musicians (and Faculty), and should not be used to share information about other persons traveling to London as a part of the "Family Tag Along" package, or any other third party tour.

London Choir Tour Rehearsal Schedule Announced

London Choir Members: Please ADD THESE REQUIRED PRACTICES to your personal & family calendars now, so there will be no conflicts with these critically important rehearsals this fall. Please note that the first rehearsal is Wednesday, September 7. 

London Tour Itinerary (as of August 1, 2022)

Please click HERE to review our current itinerary, as of September 8, 2022. This itinerary is subject to minor revisions prior to departure. 

Marching Band Tour Practice Schedule Announced

Please ADD THESE REQUIRED PRACTICES to your personal & family calendars now, so there will be no conflicts with these critically important rehearsals in November/December.

Social Media Launch - London 2023

Participating London Tour student musicians, and their family members, are encouraged to connect with newly launched Social Media channels. Please follow one, or more, to keep up-to-date with tour announcements!

Instagram - @dgnlondon2023

Facebook - @dgnlondon2023

Twitter - @dgnlondon2023

Hotel "Home Base" in London

The DGN Band and DGN Choir will stay at the Thistle Marble Arch hotel as 'home base' for the 2022-23 tour.

Update (May 31, 2022)

Please CLICK HERE for several important updates, including a reminder about CFAR Insurance (which should be purchased by July 1st), and instructions for making that purchase.  

Thank you for reading this entire update carefully. 

Passport Requirement

All tour participants must have a valid USA passport for this trip. In order to insure that you have a passport for this trip, please apply as soon as possible. We will be asking tour participants to provide a photocopy of their passport in August.

As of April 2022, routine service can take up to 11 weeks from the day an application is submitted to the day a new passport is received. 

Passports must be valid for 6 months past our return date of January 3, 2023.  That means that the expiration date of the passport must be no earlier than July 3, 2023. If you are unsure of your passport expiration date, please take a moment to double-check it. 

Please read THIS ARTICLE from the US Government that covers passport applications questions. 

Passport Acquisition:

Downers Grove Post Office [Click HERE to schedule appointment.]

Downers Grove Township [Call for appointments at 630-719-6610.]

Additional Passport Information Resources:

USPS Passport Application: https://www.usps.com/international/passports.htm

DuPage County Passport Application: https://www.dupageco.org/courtclerk/3364/

Passport Operations: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html

You've Got Questions. We've Got Answers

As our office receives questions regarding the tour, we will post them here (and respond) if we believe the information shared will be helpful to others.

tinyurl.com/DGNLondonQ-A

Tour Registration Instructions

We are pleased to share the London Tour Registration Instructions, HERE. 

As noted in the linked document, your family should receive an account activation email from Destination Events. Please read through our instructions document carefully before responding to the activation email or making the initial $100 deposit. If you do not receive an activation email, please follow the instructions provided on the linked document.

Tour Status Update - January 14, 2022

The pre-registration numbers for the London Tour were very strong, and indicate interest on the part of the community to move forward with tour planning! As of January 9, nearly 200 individual students expressed an interest in the tour, including a Tour Choir of 80 singers, and a Marching Band of 120 members. Our faculty is confident that well-balanced performing ensembles are possible with these numbers.

What's Next?

District 99 is in communication with the event organizers, and also working to solidify the arrangements for Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) insurance. We hoped to have a contract finalized & signed today, but there are still a few language details being negotiated. Presuming all parties come to an agreement on terms, families who expressed an interest in the tour through the Pre-Registration form will receive additional information about how to pay the first deposit and formally sign-up for the tour. We hope this will happen within a week's time.

What if you did not Pre-Register, but now that you know the tour is moving forward you would like to join? 

If you did not originally fill out the Pre-Registration Google form, but would now like to have your name added to the list of families that will receive the formal registration instructions, please fill out the pre-registration form now! 

Fan/Tag-Along Group

There was strong initial interest in the Fan/Tag-Along plackage. We will begin to develop that tour as well, and will reach back to interested families as soon as we have more information to share. If you are now interested in adding your name to that list of interested persons, please fill out this form.

Congratulations, again, to our students for garnering these prestigious performance invitations!

Family Tag Along Tour Interest?

If your family is interested in learning more information about a Family Tag Along tour, please express that interest by filling out THIS FORM before January 9, 2022. This is a non-binding interest form.

Did You Miss The Tour Kick-Off Meeting?

Families who were unable to attend the Monday, December 13th Tour Kick-Off Meeting are asked to view the video linked below, review the slide-deck, and complete the "attendance form" to verify that you attended (by watching the video). 

Step 1: Watch THIS VIDEO, and review THESE SLIDES.

Step 2: Fill out THIS ATTENDANCE FORM to verify you have viewed the video. [https://tinyurl.com/LondonMeetingDec13]

Participation Interest Registration - Here!

Parents/Guardians should use the link below (or the button above) to express tentative interest in Tour Registration. Information provided will be reviewed by DGN Music Faculty and used to determine tour viability.

REGISTER HERE: tinyurl.com/DGNLondon2023PreReg

Presuming the tour is supported by the community, pre-registrant information will be shared with Destination Events. Families will then receive an email from Destination Events (or District 99) with further instructions for registering their student officially for the tour.

If you wish to register two or more students for the tour, please submit multiple copies of this form.  *** Please note that each unique student must have a unique guardian email associated with their name. ***

This is a NON-BINDING registration form. By completing this form you are expressing an interest in receiving official registration credential from Destination Events & District 99. 

Registration is due Sunday, January 9, 2022.

Decisions about tour viability will be made based on tour interest shown through this form.

DGN Welcomes Representatives from London’s New Year's Day Parade & Choral Festival Committee

Fine Arts faculty and students from North High School in Downers Grove have been invited to perform in the London's New Year's Day Parade & Choral Festival on January 1, 2023. On Wednesday, November 17, North High welcomed London's New Year's Day Parade & Choral Festival Committee for a ceremony and reception. View event photos HERE. View a broadcast of the invitation ceremony, HERE. 

The committee was welcomed by district and school administrators and North High band and choirs kicked off the ceremony by performing in the auditorium. The London delegates who formally invited North High School to London in 2023 included Mr. Bob Bone, London's New Year's Day Parade Founder and Executive Director; Mr. Steve Summers, London Mayors’ Association, Chairman; and Mr. Jonathan Whaley, Director of International Participation. The delegates presented the invitation to Dr. Hank Thiele, District 99 Superintendent; Dr. Courtney DeMent, Principal; Mr. Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chairperson; and Mr. Robert Barnett, Mayor of Downers Grove.

“On behalf of the Fine Arts Department, we are honored to be invited to perform in London. The New Year’s Day Parade is one of the greatest parades in the world, and our marching band is thrilled to have the opportunity to return,” says North High Fine Arts Department Chair Brayer Teague. “The London International Choral Festival will be an outstanding performance opportunity for our singers, and we are excited to plan a cross-disciplinary tour that involves so many student musicians.” Teague added, “It was a pleasure meeting the committee and introducing them to our district and school administrators and our talented students and faculty.”

“North High School band and choir students will have a life-changing week in the historic city of London performing in the parade and immersing in a full educational program visiting museums, historic sites and places of architectural and artistic interest,” says London’s New Year’s Day Parade Executive Director Bob Bone. “We look forward to seeing the North High School students and staff to ring in the new year in 2023.”

In the parade, North High band students will perform to a street audience of over half a million people, with up to 600 million around the world watching on television. The parade will stream on the PBS Network in the United States. In the Festival Concert Series, choir students will perform to packed houses in some of London’s most prestigious music venues. The North High School Fine Arts Department participated in the parade in 2019 and 2015.

London Calling! DGN Band and DGN Choir Invited to Perform in England

The London New Year's Day Parade and London International Choral Festival have extended a joint invitation to the DGN Band and DGN Choir to perform in January 2023!

The DGN Fine Arts Department has begun planning a tour open to students who will register in 2022-2023 for a DGN Band or DGN Choir class. (This includes current 8th graders in the DGN Class of 2026.) Tour highlights will include performances by the Trojan Marching Band (2023 London New Year's Day Parade), the DGN Wind Ensemble (London New Year's Concert Festival), and the combined DGN Choirs (London International Choral Festival), as well as sight-seeing throughout the greater London metropolitan area.

The official invitations will be presented to students, faculty, and the Administration of Downers Grove North High School on Wednesday, November 17th, at 12:00 noon. A delegation of London dignitaries including Mr. Robert Bone (London New Year's Day Parade & Festival Executive Director) and Mr. Steve Summers (Chairman, London Mayors' Association & Past Lord Mayor, City of Westminster) are scheduled to speak at North High and present the formal invitation to the DGN Band and DGN Choir. The presentation will be live-streamed on the DGN Fine Arts YouTube Channel on November 17.

Current 9th, 10th, and 11th grade Band and Choir families, including families of current 8th grade students intending to enroll at North High in the Fall of 2022, are invited and encouraged to attend the TOUR KICK-OFF MEETING on Monday, December 13, 2021 at 7 PM in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. Information about the tour, including costs, staggered payment schedules, and registration procedures will be covered. 

This will be the third tour of the DGN Band to the United Kingdom (having previously performed in the LNYDP 2011 and LNYDP 2019), and the first for the DGN Choir. Click HERE for a video of the DGN Trojan Marching Band's 2019 performance in the London New Year's Day Parade.