The Manhattan High orchestra has recently accepted an invitation to go on tour with the Kansas Wesleyan University orchestra in Wichita Oct. 25 and 26, taking them to the campus, salt mines and Wichita East High.

This is intended to follow a festival on Oct. 6 at the Beach Museum of Art called “Art in Motion,” where they will celebrate Asian culture and music through the Silk Road exhibit.

Planned last year, the event is the orchestra’s chance for recognition outside of Manhattan.

“[The director of the Kansas Wesleyan orchestra] had this idea that it would be really great if we joined his college orchestra on tour,” Nate McClendon, director, said. “I thought it would be really cool and this would be really fun.”

To prepare for the tour, MHS orchestra students will go through rehearsal with the college director here and will then travel to the campus to practice with the older students.

“We’re going to play a couple pieces with their orchestra and then each orchestra is going to play a few of their own pieces,” McClendon said. “We’ll do a concert in Salina on their campus.”

Getting a head start, the students will begin practice on Oct. 25 for a day full of concerts the next day. The trip will also give them different opportunities to have fun with time slots on the itinerary saved for free time and meal times.

“It’ll be fun as well just to go on a little tour and travel and hang out with each other,” McClendon said. “We decided it would be kind of fun to get our groups together for us it’s great exposure and a great experience for our student to be playing with the older students,”

While preparing for the tour, the group will also practice for their upcoming festival and their fundraiser at UMI restaurant on Sunday.