GOLDEN EAGLES READY TO GET 'TATTOOED'

Band members practiced marching on the field behind Towers Tuesday.

George Aplin plans to search out his family roots. Laura Huusko has been working hard to pay for the trip. And Tyson Wunderlich is trying to find out what's going on on the London stages.

Next week, 85 members of Southeast Missouri State University's Golden Eagles Marching Band will embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they leave to take part in the Scotland Military Tattoo in Edinburgh.

The band is rehearsing this week in preparation for the first international trip ever taken by the Golden Eagles. The public is invited to attend a free special "send off" performance at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Band Shell at Capaha Park.

The Golden Eagles are only the second U.S. university band to participate in the tattoo, a word the dictionary also defines as a military spectacle featuring music, marching and military exercises. The Golden Eagles will be part of a 1,000-member cast in this tattoo.

Aplin, a Cape Girardeau senior, is especially looking forward to arriving in Edinburgh next week. He has family roots that go back to the area and he plans to do some exploring.

"We're only committed a few hours a day, so that'll give us time to roam the countryside," he said. Aplin plays the mellophone, the marching equivalent of a French horn.

"I've waited all summer for this," said Huusko of Carlyle, Ill. "There was a German exchange program when I was in high school and I didn't get to go."

A sophomore vocal music major, Huusko has been working two jobs to help pay her part of the expenses. "This pretty well wiped out my entire savings since I was 8," she said.

The excited tone of her voice and the huge smile on her face gave every indication that she thought her sacrifices were worthwhile. Huusko is a member of the Golden Eagles' percussion section.

The Golden Eagles will begin the five-week tour of the United Kingdom and Scotland with a stop in London Tuesday and Wednesday.

From London the band travels to York, where rehearsals begin. "This will let them get their sea legs," said Barry Bernhardt, director of university bands at Southeast. While in York, the band will give a performance for the lord mayor of York.

Bernhardt is familiar with the tattoo. While teaching in California he accompanied the Western States Collegiate Band to the Tattoo.

"This is something I've been working on here for about four years," he said. "I wanted to provide the students with an opportunity to do something that bands can't just buy."

Since this is an invitation-only event, being asked to perform is a very prestigious honor.

After the York performance, the Golden Eagles move to Edinburgh. The Calvary Training Base at Bradford will be the band's home base for the remainder of the tour.

The Golden Eagles will make 25 guest performances on the Esplanade of the Edinburgh Castle. The 90-minute show is divided into 10-minute segments for each band. All 1,000 participants then combine for a grand finale.

Seniors Jamee Edmundson of Cape Girardeau and Michelle Wehmeyer of Owensville, both members of the percussion section, agree this is an opportunity of a lifetime. "This is something I've always wanted to do and this is my opportunity to do it," said Wehmeyer.

Bernhardt estimates the tattoo will be viewed by a sold-out crowd of 10,000 nightly. "Almost a third of the crowd is international with the major part of that being American," he said.

The Scottish military makes the arrangements for transporting tattoo participants to various locations. Getting everyone where they need to go requires 22 charter buses at a cost of $100,000 for the month.

The Golden Eagles will perform for the lord mayor of Glasgow and will visit the William Wallace Monument at Sterling, the site where the story of "Braveheart" actually took place.

The university Jazz Ensemble will participate in the International Jazz and Blues Festival Aug. 1. "I feel we should take as many opportunities to perform as we can while we're there," said Bernhardt.

On their last Sunday abroad, the Golden Eagles will play during the Scottish Highland Games in Crief near Loch Ness.

The majority of the financing for the trip comes from the students themselves. "That can be pretty tough for a college student," said Bernhardt. "Most students work and they will have to give up six weeks of summer employment for the tour and week of practice."

The university subsidized a portion of the trip, and students have been involved in various types of fund raisers.

Tyson Wunderlich of Altenburg has his mom and dad to thank for helping with his expenses. "This is a lifetime experience that doesn't come out of nowhere," he said.

Wunderlich is an incoming freshman member of the percussion section. He'll be doing a little bit of everything at the tattoo, filling in wherever needed.

He is also a Broadway show buff. "I've been searching the Internet to see what kind of shows they'll be having," he said.

He hopes to see "Phantom of the Opera" while on the trip. "I'd like to see what a different version of it would be like," he said.

Bernhardt's goal was to give the Southeast Missouri State University students and the Cape Girardeau community something they would remember for years to come.

Percussionist Holly Slavings of Benton sees her journey to Scotland as a way to be part of a family custom. "I have three brothers in the Navy," she says. "This way I'll get to carry on the tradition of traveling."

As the band practices under the sweltering heat and humidity, there are cooler days ahead. "Temperatures in Scotland are in the 60s and 70s," said sophomore drum major and clarinetist Amy Arnold of Scott City. "I'm really looking forward to that."