Libertyville High bands headed to sea

It’s apparently not enough for the Libertyville High School student bands to take their show on the road.

Next year, they’ll be hitting the open seas for a gig.

The teen musicians will perform in March 2012 on the Majesty of the Seas, a cruise ship in the Royal Caribbean line.

About 100 students are expected to go on the trip, which includes stops in Miami and Nassau, Bahamas. It’s scheduled for March 25-30 and coincides with spring break.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors from three bands — symphonic, symphonic winds and wind ensemble — will be invited to participate, said Dustin Helvie, chairman of the school’s fine arts department.

The Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 board approved the trip at a meeting Monday. At the same meeting, the panel also approved a European trip for the Vernon Hills High School orchestra, as well as trips for a Vernon Hills High choir and the school’s Future Business Leaders of America club.

Students — not the district — will foot the bill for the cruise tickets, which are $1,600 each.

Libertyville High staff members and parents will chaperon the teens, officials said. They’ll pay their own way, too, Helvie said.

“We couldn’t do this trip without those chaperones,” Helvie said.

Once the world’s largest cruise ship, the Majesty of the Seas launched in 1992. Weighing 74,077 tons, it has room for 2,767 passengers.

In addition to planned performances in Nassau and on the ship, students may be able to participate in a professional music workshop, District 128 officials said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” board member Stephen Arthur said. “I wish I was in band.”

Libertyville High bands performed once before on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, in 2008, Helvie said.