Costa Mesa High School is opening the doors of real world music, history, and arts education in a once-in-a-lifetime trip for a select number of students.  To kick off their spring break, fourteen members of the school band will be traveling to New Orleans and immersing themselves in the local history and jazz culture for five days.

They’ll be joined by fourteen members of the Huntington Beach High School Band and several parents from both schools under the leadership of Mrs. Sandy Gilboe and Mr. Gregg Gilboe, directors of the bands at CMHS and HBHS, respectively.

New Orleans is widely renowned as the birthplace of Jazz music. The students will have the opportunity to experience several live performances, including a visit to Snug Harbor Bistro to hear Ellis Marsalis (patriarch of the famous Marsalis jazz family), a private concert by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Cajun music and culture at Mulates Restaurant.

Scheduled tours of the French Quarter, Oak Valley Plantation, Cajun Pride Swamp, and the Natchez Steamboat will provide the students a first-hand history lesson unlike any they have ever experienced.