Schaumburg mayor to pay own way on orchestra’s Europe trip
Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson will pay his own way when he accompanies the Schaumburg Youth Symphony Orchestra on its trip to the United Kingdom and France next June, he said Tuesday.
That reduces by $4,651 the $27,366 the village planned to pay for both him and five staff members to accompany the concert tour from June 19 to 30.
The village’s total expense will now be an estimated $22,805 for what Village Manager Ken Fritz described as the necessary participation for oversight of the cultural services director, orchestra director, orchestra manager, orchestra assistant and a technician.
Larson said that on four previous overseas trips between 2000 and 2007, his presence as mayor helped open doors for the youth symphony orchestra to play at some of the biggest and best venues in the cities they visited in Japan, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic.
While he believes that will hold true in the UK and France as well next summer, he said he plans to make the trip on his own expense.
“I’ve got some time to save my pennies,” Larson said.
Schaumburg trustees Tuesday night unanimously voted to hire the services of Lukas Marketing of Wayne to schedule and coordinate the orchestra’s tour.