Fund Gray's Life-Changing Music Journey to Europe

Hello! I’m Dayrene, and my son, Gray, needs help fundraising for an educational music trip to Europe next summer. He’ll tell you all about it below:

My name is Gray. Howdy! I’m 15 years old, and a 10th grade student at Malden High School. I have a 4.3 gpa and I’m always looking for new experiences that enrich my learning. I’ve been in band playing the clarinet since 4th grade, that’s almost 7 years! In those 7 years my playing has come quite a long way. I went from barely being able to make a sound on a clarinet to participating in UMass Amherst’s 2025 Honor Band. It was an amazing experience, and I got to meet so many other kids that are just as passionate about band as I am.

Currently, a life changing band opportunity has presented itself. For the first time ever, Massachusetts will be participating in the nationally known Ambassadors of Music Europe trip, led by Tim Anderson (TTA), the director of the UMass Minuteman Marching band. For this trip, TTA and other chaperones will take about 100 band students from Massachusetts on a 5 country, 15 day trip to Europe. There, students will learn about famous composers, learn about new cultures and cuisine, travel to beautiful destinations, and most importantly, have the opportunity to perform in incredible venues to international audiences all throughout the trip.

Students must be nominated in order to go on the trip, and I was nominated by my band director. It really is an experience that would be life changing for me, however, my family doesn’t have the means to pay for it. The trip costs about $8000, excluding pocket money. Any and all proceeds of this fundraiser would be going purely towards this trip, so that I have the opportunity to further my budding career as a young musician. Please consider donating so that I can make the most of a once in a lifetime opportunity!