ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE'S WILLIAM FLEMING HIGH has accepted an invitation to Paris. All that's left now is raising money for the trip.
Come New Year's Day, Nathan Mossor will play his saxophone and march in Paris. He'll also spend a few days sightseeing in the French capital. He'll see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Elysee Palace.
"You can't believe how excited I am about it," he said. "I can't wait."
Mossor, a junior at William Fleming High School in Roanoke, is so enthusiastic that he doesn't mind working up to 30 hours a week at a department store to help pay for the trip.
Mossor is a member of the school band, which has accepted an invitation to the Paris-Chantilly Parade Festival during the New Year holiday.
Many other band members are also working this summer to make money to help pay for the seven-day trip, which will cost $1,519 for each member.
J.D. Toliver is cutting grass and making repairs to his grandfather's house. He's trying to find grass-cutting customers so he can make more money.
"My mom is backing me up and will help with the expenses, but I've got to make some money," said Toliver, a sophomore.
He's looking forward to seeing the sights of Paris, but he's also taking the trip seriously - he wants Fleming to win the band competition.
Paige Thacker will be working at a fast-food restaurant this summer and fall to help pay for the trip.
Thacker, who also is a cheerleader, decided to go on the trip after she got the job. "At first, I wasn't going because I didn't have a job and I though there would be a conflict in scheduling," she said.
William Fleming is one of 10 high school bands from the United States that have been invited to the festival, which will include two parades and one concert. Fleming is the only Virginia band invited.
There will also be bands from Great Britain, Japan, Belgium, Netherlands and other countries.
Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris said it's too early to say whether the explosion of a Paris-bound TWA jetliner off Long Island would cause the Fleming trip to be canceled.
"Our first concern is the safety of our students," Harris said, "and if there was any doubt they would be in jeopardy, we would have to rethink the trip. But I would want to know the response of the Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement authorities to the TWA crash before we make any judgment on the trip."
One festival parade will be in Paris and the other will be in Chantilly, a town outside the capital.
The parades are the highlight of a nationwide festival to raise money for charities in France. Donations will be collected along the parade route.
"It's like a Rose Bowl parade and a charity telethon combined into one," said John Wright, William Fleming's music director.
Wright said school officials decided to accept the invitation because there will be enough performances to make the trip educational and enough sightseeing to make it attractive for students.
Wright said officials researched the Paris festival before deciding to let the band go. "We checked out the people's credentials and made sure it was worthwhile. We did not want the band to be used for anything that was not legitimate."
He said the festival is 10 years old. The sponsors include the city of Paris, the mayor's office in Chantilly and ranking French government officials.
This will be the first European trip for the Fleming band, but it has traveled to New York and Florida in the past. The band performed at the World's Fair in New York in the 1960s.
Wright said Fleming was invited because of its reputation and record in parade competition. The school was the recent winner in the Vinton Dogwood Festival competition.
"The invitation is based on people who have seen the band perform," he said, "and they're looking for schools where the directors are known."
Wright has been Fleming's music director for four years. He was band director at Bath County High for 13 years before coming to Roanoke.
He has taken bands to parades from Florida to Toronto, Canada. His bands have also performed in several Major League Baseball parks.
Wright said at least half of the 80 members of Fleming's band and about 20 parents have indicated they will go to Paris. Those numbers could increase by the time school opens in the fall, he said.
"Some kids don't want to go because they don't want to fly, but the response has been good," he said.
The parents and band boosters are meeting with Wright every two weeks to plan the trip, which will last from Dec.27 to Jan.3.
Wright said the group has decided it will try to pick up 50 percent of the $1,519 cost for each band member. The remaining 50 percent would be paid by the band member and his or her family.
He said the group is also planning a series of fund-raising activities, including raffles, car washes, fruit sales and other events. Most of the fund-raising activities will occur after school opens.
Some civic groups and individuals have offered to help raise money for the trip.
"If anyone wants to sponsor band members for the trip, we would welcome that," Wright said. "We've assured the band members if they want to go and are willing to work to help pay for it, some way will be found for them to go."
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Mossor, Toliver.by CNB