MORGAN PARK — The Morgan Park High School Band of Distinction has performed at school concerts as well as halftime shows for the Chicago Bears this school year.
Since band director Everett Newchurch came to the school three years ago, the group’s 75 students — ranging from seventh to 12th grade and representing the concert, marching and jazz bands — have also performed at the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and the Hope Chicago Gala.
This month, parents launched a nonprofit organization to support the band and its students, as more than 78 percent of students at the Far South Side high school come from low-income homes, according to the Illinois State Board of Education’s most recent school Report Card. The group is fundraising to send students on an early April field trip to Jackson State University in Mississippi.
Newchurch said the Mississippi trip is important so students can experience being on a college campus.
“My students are going to interact with the college students, learning different techniques about music and trying to improve their techniques,” Newchurch said. “It’s going to be a college tour. A lot of our kids aren’t able to go and visit a college outside of the state of Illinois or sometimes out of the city. This is a great opportunity to go someplace where the atmosphere is a clean, good educating atmosphere.”
Morgan Park High School’s marching band performs as hundreds gathered along Wentworth Avenue for the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade on Feb. 9, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Carmen Holiday, community partnership coordinator with Band Parents of Morgan Park, said some students could not afford to join the trip to Jackson State University, and the fundraiser will allow more to go. Holiday estimated the nonprofit would need to raise $10,000-$20,000 to cover the fees and expenses for all students to attend.
“Everybody’s situation is different,” Holiday said. “We have a lot of children, we have a lot of different backgrounds and a lot of different responsibilities and priorities financially.”
The band already had to cancel a trip to Atlanta for this month’s HBCU National Band and Orchestra Directors Consortium due to a lack of funds for transportation and lodging, Newchurch said. Lack of funds also prevented the band from performing in this year’s South Side Irish Parade, something its students have been able to do in the past.
The Morgan Park High School Marching Band marches during the South Side Irish Parade in March 2023. Credit: Kathleen Hinkel/Block Club Chicago
Beyond paying for trips, the nonprofit will help with essential band expenses for all students, including transportation and travel costs, instrument and uniform maintenance, equipment needs and educational travel experiences that allow students to represent Morgan Park with pride and excellence.
Organizers set a goal of raising $50,000 this year.
Newchurch teaches five band classes, covering beginning- to advance-level courses. The full band practices four days a week after school.
Newchurch said his students work hard on their music and must remain in good academic standing to perform. With his students putting in the work each day, offering travel opportunities is important to the educator.
“If I don’t get others to try to help as far as donating and things like that, I feel like I am doing a disservice to the kids because I want them to see what the world has to offer,” he said.
Holiday’s daughter, Victoria Holiday, is a sophomore at Morgan Park High School and plays trombone in the band. Holiday said she has seen her daughter thrive while performing with the group.
“I’m seeing the leader in her come forward. She is more assertive,” Holiday said. “Sometimes at midnight or just whenever she will pick up her instrument and practice. I don’t have to tell her to practice. I don’t have to tell her to study. She’s driven and she is very college-oriented because of band. It has encouraged her even more on the collegiate path.”
For more information about sponsorship opportunities or to donate, visit the Band Parents of Morgan Park’s LinkTree page.
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