Help me perform with the River City Rhythm Drum Corps

I’m Simon Walrod and I've been selected after multiple rounds of auditions to perform with the River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps in the Drum Corps International (DCI) Open Class Circuit this summer! This opportunity has been a lifelong dream of mine, but even with RCR's relatively low costs, it comes with a fee of $3,200 and I would deeply appreciate any donations.

-About River City Rhythm-

River City Rhythm (RCR) is a drum corps that competes in the DCI open class circuit. If youre not familar with DCI, think of drum corps as professional marching band at an extremely high level, and DCI is sort of like the NFL, but for these professional marching bands. RCR has a consistent track record of affordability, top teir educators, and performing excellence consistently earning a place in DCI open class championships Finals every year. Every group requires its prospective members to attend multiple rounds of rigorous auditions and contracts are offered to the best of those who audition. I actually auditioned for this same group a couple years ago, but didn't make the cut.

-Over the summer, the corps will have members "move in" with them where they spent all summer learning and perfecting their show. Corps will travel around the country, rehearsing in different locations and performing their show in different states before taking it to DCI Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Over the summer corps provide members with housing, transportation, food, and top teir education.

-About Me-

My name is Simon Walrod, and music is my whole life. I'm primarily a percussionist, but I also play flute and oboe. My music journey started when my dad forced me to try band in 7th grade and contrary to my expetations, I ended up falling in love with music. I continued to learn and play music throughout middle and high school and I've won auditions for district and state band every year of high school and even won the top state orchestra percussion spot 2 years in a row. My last year of high school, I even auditioned and won a spot in an orchestra that played at Carnegie Hall in NYC.

-Currently, I'm in my 6th semester of University Music School pursuing a degree in Music Education, but I also currently teach the drumline at Shawnee Heights High School and the middle and high school percussionists at McLouth.

-DCI is a youth performing art and is limited to people under the age of 22, which means for me, this is the last year I'm eligible to participate. Fees associated with corps' membership fees have been increasing across the board for every group (to the point where quite a few of them can't even afford to exist anymore) recently, but RCR remains one of the most affordable open class corps still in operation. Just for reference, other open class Corps offering similar experiences have fees around $6,000. This opportunity has been a lifelong dream of mine, but even with RCR's relatively low costs, it comes with a fee of $3,200 and I would deeply appreciate any donations.