Ah, the joys of summer: sleeping in, staying out late, and no school activities whatsoever.  Along with the typical vacations to the beach, some students travel outside of the country for their vacations, including FCHS senior Sarah Scruggs, but not for the reasons you may think.  Scruggs has been selected along with around 160 highly-qualified band and choir students from across the country to participate in a three-week tour around Europe singing and performing at some of the most famous cathedrals and concert halls in the world.  The trip is through the Sound of America, a non-profit organization, and has been going strong for 37+ years.  After Scruggs made All-State choir in 2013, Sound of America invited her to apply.  Because she qualified for All-State she did not need to send in an audition tape, she was just required to send in the application and recommendation forms.  Scruggs discovered she was accepted a week later.

This will be Scruggs’ first time out of the country and her longest time away from her family.  However, that is the least of her worries.  “I think there will be a great deal of sleeping on buses, which could be uncomfortable,” said Scruggs.  “Also, leaving to come back will be hard.  And I’m a little nervous about the air travel; I had a bad experience last summer,” she said.  Scruggs will be traveling through the countries of Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Paris, and Luxembourg.  Along with that, she’ll get the opportunity to visit breathtaking cities including Rothenburg, Salzburg, where the Sound of Music took place, Verona, the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Grindelwald, with astounding views of the Swiss Alps, Paris, and the Palace of Versailles, along with many others.

Before Scruggs departs to the various countries, she will begin her adventure in Pennsylvania at Elizabethtown College for five days of intensive rehearsals as well as tour orientation.  The group will then perform twice at the college before they fly out and perform several other times at concert halls and cathedrals throughout Europe.  “I am most excited about meeting all the fun people,” said Scruggs.  “We also get to sing in Notre Dame Cathedral, which will be amazing,” she said.  Sarah Scruggs has been given the chance of a lifetime and will share her talent throughout Europe.