Since the "Fightin' Bucks" band at Alpine High School was handed a rare invitation to play Carnegie Hall, a prestigious concert venue in New York City, students and faculty have spent nearly a year planning and raising money for the trip.
With the concert finally coming up next week, the band's looking forward to the journey, and looking back on how it all came together.
There's a real sense of excitement and commotion in the air at the Alpine ISD band room this week. Senior Eli Rodriguez explains why the journey to New York City is such a big deal to many band members.
"Most everyone I've talked to had never been outside of Texas, so much as that far north," he says.
In addition to being the band's last chance to prepare for the trip, this week marks the end of a long process of fundraising.
Senior trumpet player Nate Nelson reflects on the wealth of support that the band's received from the community.
"They've been really supportive, I mean, we've been pretty much non-stop fundraising since the beginning of the year, and there's always people there helping us," he says.
Band Director Chuck Wilson is proud of his group's musical achievements, but he's equally proud of the collaboration between the band and the community at large. He hopes this project will have a lasting effect on the region.
"I would like to see similar levels of support happen in Marfa and in Fort Davis," he says. "To see that bleed over into the other communities would be fantastic."
Monday, March 16 is the big day for the Fightin' Bucks band. They'll be joined on stage at Carnegie Hall by other high school ensembles from Texas, California and Florida.
- Ryan Lentini