Buffalo Grove's Band and Director Profiled in National Publication

     One hundred and thirty-three Buffalo Grove High School music students, teachers, and parent chaperones spent two weeks traveling and performing in picturesque countries on their 10th European Concert Tour this past June, as part of the school's 23 years of participation in an international exchange program. While on tour this summer, the Buffalo Grove group was pleased to find itself featured, along with its Director of Bands, Ed Jacobi, in the June issue of the national publication, School Band and Orchestra. Jacobi's picture is on the cover and on the Table of Contents page, along with a five-page pictorial article and interview, "Up Close: Ed Jacobi—A Life-Changing Experience."

     "I am so honored to be featured in this national journal," said Jacobi, "but whereas the article recognizes the past, I look forward more to continuing to nurture this exchange, so that students on both sides of the ocean can continue to experience each others' cultures. What we do is truly unique in our musical world, and for this, I am very proud and appreciative." 

     The article chronicles the history of the cultural exchange program, which began in 1990 between Buffalo Grove and a school in Vienna, Austria--Landstrasser Gymnasium. Each September, the Viennese students and teachers spend up to two weeks touring the sites of Chicago, staying with BGHS host families, and attending classes, as part of their trip to America.  Every three years, the Buffalo Grove group reciprocates, with the "life-changing" opportunity to perform in glorious, world-renowned concert venues. Though the trips are centered in Vienna, the Buffalo Grove contingent has also traveled extensively and performed in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy.

     This year's exchange begins this Sunday, Sept. 15, as 42 students and two teachers arrive from Buffalo Grove's "sister school" in Vienna and will be attending classes at BGHS until they depart on Sept. 24.  

     The students and teachers on both sides of the exchange have become good friends, as a result of staying in each other's homes. Jacobi and the other music teachers at Buffalo Grove are proud of the international good will the exchange program inspires, as well as the opportunity to play in concert halls where the masters have performed. The article also touches on fundraising the music department must do to finance the trip, new airline policies and charges that must be navigated, and ways to build excitement and interest within the school, in order to keep the program thriving year after year.

     To read the article in its entirety, visit the School Band and Orchestra journal website at  http://www.sbomagazine.com/, choose "Archives" from the menu bar and then select the June 2013 issue. For more information on Buffalo Grove's Vienna Exchange program, contact Jacobi at (847) 718-4159.