With the creation of All-Stars of Music and Accent Performances, Guardian Travel Group is going above and beyond to make unique travel experiences accessible for students.
These two programs both work to provide young learners and performers affordable, immersive, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities—and they’re growing. Accent Performances is an adjudicated music festival program for bands, orchestras and choirs, launching new festivals next year in Chicago and New Orleans with top-tier venues like the Navy Pier and Jazz Museum.
Meanwhile, All-Stars of Music is a travel program bringing together top music students (chosen by nomination) from across a state to create exceptional ensembles led by collegiate-level conductors for huge performance tours in Hawaii and Europe.
We talked with CEO Matthew Granger and Director of Special Projects Zoey Allan for more details.
What have you seen come out of All-Stars of Music?
Zoey: At the junior high level, we have a Hawaii performance tour: one week on the island of Oahu, with a couple extra days as an extension on the Big Island of Hawaii. At the high school level, we do a two-week trip to Europe visiting a variety of countries, with the opportunity to extend it to a three-week experience to truly immerse themselves.
There are magical moments that happen that you’re not always expecting. For instance, in Hawaii last summer, we performed at the Battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor. We had a flag ceremony afterward where a student handed the flag to his grandmother, who was in the first battalion of women to serve at Pearl Harbor. It was a Hallmark-type moment we didn’t know would happen.
Another example: We were in London this past summer seeing Wicked on the West End. One student had a connection to the actress playing Elphaba through his voice teacher. Though she doesn’t always come to the stage door, we arranged it so she talked to our students and took pictures. Those little, unforgettable moments are the pieces they remember and hold onto.
How does fundraising work for this?
Matthew: We are big believers in volume over profit per person. I’d rather have a hundred kids on a trip I make less money on than 50 kids on a trip I make far more on. Growing up, I had to fundraise every cent for high school trips. Guardian charges less because we don’t need as much; we aren’t run by venture capitalists or stockholders. We have over a dozen different product lines—tumblers, online donation platforms, physical products.
We also have the Guardian Foundation, which provides scholarships for trips. Our newest passion project is starting our own string instrument company: Guardian Strings. We sell them for 40% less than competitors to get more quality instruments into students’ hands. For every instrument bought, Guardian makes a donation to buy additional instruments for inner-city schools.
How are you bringing the unique Guardian approach to these Accent festivals?
Matthew: We need understanding and to learn about cultures and histories different from ours. My goal is to do what’s right and beneficial, not just what makes money the fastest. Accent festivals provide opportunities to perform and receive feedback from people who care about music. We don’t view these as throwaway experiences just to go to a theme park. We want students to become better musicians. Creative people—those in band, choir, orchestra, theater—are the ones who change society for the better.
GUARDIAN FESTIVALS
Accent Performances: New Orleans
- Performances followed by clinic at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint
- Admission to the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint
- Dinner and live entertainment aboard the Steamboat Natchez
Accent Performances: Chicago
- Performances followed by a clinic at Navy Pier
- Meal card for Navy Pier
- Evening live performance at one of Chicago’s esteemed cultural institutions (Broadway In Chicago, CSO, etc.)
Shenaniganz Music Festival
- Performances followed by clinic at Shenaniganz Entertainment Center
Symphony of Magic Invitational at Universal Orlando Resort
- Performances followed by clinic or talkback with festival adjudicator
- Park tickets and hotel stay for Universal Orlando Resort
Photo courtesy of Matthew Granger and Zoey Allan.
