Coordinating Your Travel for your School’s Next Band Gig

The day of a band competition, or recital, can be hectic enough without coordinating a proper travel plan. Especially if the band must function as a unit. You can’t have people going missing, or showing up late to a venue. It will throw off the entire recital. Instead, you should schedule an airport shuttle and make sure you follow this advice to be ready for your best performance.

Create a Schedule

The first step an administrator can take, both for practicality and sanity sake, is to create a schedule of upcoming performances for the year. High school bands may travel along with their football team, may make appearances at other schools or local churches, and most likely have a set of competitions they are involved in. This involves a lot of travel, usually around the same city. With a schedule you know when you need a charter bus, when students can commute locally, and when your home appearances are so you can create a budget.

Permission

Not every child will want to come on the trip, so make sure you have permission slips filled out well in advance to get a headcount for each trip. This will affect seating for your shuttle bus, costs for the trip, and available budgets as well. Band trips are also expensive for some families, so kids may opt out of some or most trips, but participate in others. Be prepared for that by circulating your schedule early.

Safety

The most important step is safety, and it comes with creating a guide or manual that everyone will follow in the event of an emergency. Outline where to meet up, which students belong to which groups, and create a system to ensure the event is well-chaperoned.