15 Valley Youths Tune Up for EuroDisney Trip : Grand opening: The students are headed to Paris with other Americans to perform in celebrations at the new amusement park.

Francisco Aguilar is busy memorizing the sousaphone part to “Be Our Guest” from the film “Beauty and the Beast.” Occasionally, his girlfriend, Adriana Miles, practices with him, forming a distinctive duet. She plays piccolo.

Francisco and Adriana are two of 15 San Fernando Valley-area youths who will perform that number and others with the All-American Marching Band, Drill Team and Cheerleaders at the grand opening of the EuroDisney park in Paris next Saturday.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m ready and willing,” Francisco, 17, said.

The two Cleveland High School students will join other students from across the country to form a 400-piece band and a combination 123-member drill team and cheerleading troupe scheduled to meet for the first time in Paris on Wednesday. They will practice for three days and squeeze in some sightseeing before they perform at the European version of Disneyland later that week.

“I think it’s a great honor, and I’m glad I was chosen,” Adriana said.

Patrick O’Shea, director of International Operations for Educational Tour Consultants Inc., said his office mailed applications to about 200 California students who were considered the top in their state by the California Music Education Assn.

They were among 900 students from across the country offered positions in the band. The only catch: The students had to raise the $1,800 to join the ensemble. Ultimately, 400 were able to make the trip.

“These are the best high school musicians in the country--there is no question,” O’Shea said. A handful of college students were also selected upon the discretion of their music departments, he said.

They did a variety of things to raise the money: They staged garage sales and bake sales, sold first aid kits, hawked candy and asked local businesses for contributions.

Adriana said she raised about $1,000 by contacting local civic organizations for donations. She got a job to help defray the remaining $800, she said.

Students from Palmdale and Quartz Hill high schools joined forces last month for a $10-per-seat benefit concert at Lancaster Performing Arts Center. The students raised more than $3,000, which was divided according to how many tickets each student sold.

Six Palmdale High School students pulled off an even bigger coup--a $5,000 contribution from the Palmdale City Council.

Palmdale High junior Brandon Espinoza raised about $1,400 through fund-raisers and contributions. His parents wrote the check for the remaining $400, he said.

Not all students were as successful as Brandon.

Quartz Hill students Mena Odocayen, a French horn player, and Tamara Greaver, a flutist, “sent letters to every business in the Antelope Valley, and the most we got was $50,” Odocayen said.

The Quartz Hill Chamber of Commerce helped out by contributing $500 for Mena, Tamara, and two of their fellow students, Susan Manley, a bass clarinetist and Cristina Montana, who plays clarinet.

Other students from the San Fernando Valley area are: Walter Fry, percussionist from the University of Southern California; Christa Patch, a drill team member from Cal State Northridge and Richard Andres, a sousaphone player from Canoga Park High School.

Also from Palmdale high are: Daniel Sturgeon, a tuba player, Jennifer Martin, a drill team member, and clarinetists Richard Amado, Melissa Hummel and Geraldine Nunez.