Band conductor William DeWitt said 50 percent of the proceeds will go to the Japan Disaster Relief Foundation, while the other half will be pay for their trip to London for the Olympic games next year.
The band has been invited to perform during the Olympics.
“Given the obvious challenges and opportunities of such an invite, the student musicians of Saipan Southern High School cordially invite all music lovers and supporters of the band to come out and enjoy this special concert,” DeWitt said.
Tonight’s concert will be the first public appearance of the band since winning sweepstakes trophy for an unprecedented third consecutive year at the international Tumon Bay Music Festival last month.
DeWitt said the 42-piece concert band plans to perform its adjudicated repertoire in addition to several brand new selections it has been preparing just for this event, including a mesmerizing piece composed by Daiki Kato titled “March of the Spinner Dolphins.”
Event organizer Arisa Sakai Peters said she believes tonight’s concert will represent the highest level of band performance ever achieved by SSHS students.
“They sound fantastic, and we want to celebrate their talents, raise some money for the disaster victims in Japan and the band’s trip to London,” Peters said.
Manta Ray is one of a handful of bands invited to provide official entertainment to guests, athletes, and dignitaries at the Olympic Park in London during the Summer Games next year.
The band also played in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and has made other high-profile appearances at the Carnegie Hall for the New York International Music Festival and at the Sydney Opera House during the Australian Music Festival.
“We are honored and overwhelmed by the London invitation. The fundraising has begun in earnest, and we expect it to be quite an undertaking,” Peters said. The Saipan community, she noted, has been very supportive in the past.
“We are grateful for their support once again, and we want to represent the CNMI in a way that draws positive international publicity to our wonderful people and the place we call home. The estimated expenses for this tour range from $5,000 to 6,000 per musician, which is actually less than what I expected initially,” she said.
Their fundraising goal is approximately $300,000.
Sponsors for tonight’s event are Fiesta Resort & Spa, Tan Siu Lin Foundation, IT&E and the Northern Mariana Islands Japan Disaster Relief. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the performance will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 each and available at the door.
For more information, email William DeWitt at willdewitt69@gmail.com.
