While students are hitting the gym to perfect their spring break beach bodies and booking flights in anticipation, Ashland University Jazz Band is gearing up for their own spring break: Spain. 

The jazz band has been practicing and performing to prepare themselves for their trip to Spain. 

On top of this, the group has also been participating in multiple fundraisers to cover some of the costs of the trip. 

The trip includes four days in the resort town of Lloret de Mar and ends with four days in Barcelona, Spain.

“This will be my sixteenth or seventeenth time personally but we have a really nice situation set up,” said Jazz Orchestra Director Scott Garlock. “The students get an incredible experience and it’s really inexpensive compared to other things they might try and do.” 

With seed money from the Dean’s office and a bunch of fundraisers under their belts, the group is looking at around $750 to $800 to travel out of the country. One of the fundraisers the group will participate in is “Jazz-a-thon”, which will showcase the efforts of the group for five hours straight as they hope to raise money for their trip. 

The group has also performed at different places in Ashland, such as the infamous Ashland bar, Monte-B’s. 

In addition to performance fundraisers, the group has also broken a sweat as they worked concession stands for Cleveland sports teams.  With the help of Kappa Kappa Psi and their sponsorship, one of the most grueling fundraisers the group has participated in took place at Cedar Point as they cleaned hotel rooms for eight hours. 

While the group is in Spain, they will have four or five performances in addition to seeing the sites. In the past, the AU Jazz Orchestra has experienced performances for NFL Europe games as well as the 25th anniversary for a magazine collective. 

Although all of their performances are not yet lined up, their primary show will take place on a Barcelona beach. 

“We’ll most likely play concerts that will be a mix of traditional big band music, some Latin flavored tunes and some arrangements I’m working on,” Garlock said. “It will be based on music created by an ensemble known in that part of the world as a cobla, which create music for the Catalan national dance, the Sardana.”

With key connections, the group has been able to experience things most people only dream of. One primary connection is Jorge Prats, a gentleman that Garlock met at his previous employment. As a native, Prats was one of the first individuals to begin taking American students over to Barcelona, Spain. Sadly, as Prats reaches his 18th year, this may end up being his last time taking students out of the country.

“He’s as close to a second father as I have on the planet, he’s really a great guy,” Garlock said.

In addition to being a native, Prats comes from a wealthy family, which has allowed the group to be exposed to a cheaper style of traveling as they drop his name and doors begin to open. 

One of the best deals the group gets is the bus company, which is owned by an individual Prats went to high school with.  

Since Prats began these trips in the early 1970s, each accommodation has become a routine, allowing them to establish relationships with the companies and cut more deals.

“Another reason it’s so inexpensive is that I got really, really cheap flights,” Garlock said, “but they’re awful travel days.”

With an approximated nine hours to Barcelona, the students will have to endure over 20 hours of traveling before reaching their destination. 

Their journey will begin as they fly from Columbus to Boston, where they will endure a six-hour layover. From there, the group will fly out to Amsterdam where they will endure another six-hour layover, and from there, they will finally fly out to Barcelona. 

On their way back to the states, the group will endure layovers in Amsterdam and Detroit before arriving back in Columbus. 

With 25 students in the university’s jazz orchestra, there are four freshman and four graduating seniors that make up the group. For these particular individuals, the trip will either signify their rite of passage into the group or their exciting goodbye as they make their way into the world.

For graduating senior Cody White, the trip is going to be a bittersweet experience, as it will signify the end of his college career. 

 “It’s probably the most fun I’ve had in any ensemble,” White, a trumpet player, said. “The director, Scott Garlock is hilarious but he knows what he’s doing.” 

Since he is one of many who have spent the past four years making a name for himself in the jazz orchestra, White has seen the cohesion of the group build over each passing semester. 

“We’re all very cooperative with each other and we encourage one another,” White said. “The stresses, they come and go, but jazz orchestra is what I really love to do.” 

For freshman Jon Fielding, jazz orchestra is something new and exciting, and after grueling auditions, Fielding has been able to use the past semester to adjust into the tight-knit family that jazz orchestra brings. After their performances, Fielding has come to appreciate the laid back atmosphere the group has created for themselves. 

“I really enjoy the freedom it provides. In classical music, you stick to the page and don’t mess up,” said Fielding. “That uptightness doesn’t exist in jazz; it’s a more relaxing, enjoyable experience.”

As he continues in to his second semester, Fielding will begin to see what the group has been working towards throughout the group’s fall semester performances. As the trip draws near, many students, including Fielding, are beginning to become anxious by what the trip may bring.

“I’m really just looking forward to sightseeing and playing in a different culture,” said Fielding. “I’ve never left the country before and I’m excited to experience something new.”

The group is set to leave for their spring break trip March 1 and arrive back in time for classes March 12.