2 Bands to Head Out in Different Directions : Schools: Thousand Oaks music students will be performing in Hawaii, and the Simi Valley contingent will be competing in Washington, D.C.

For some people, packing for a trip to Hawaii would be easy: Stuff a swim suit, sunscreen, shorts and a pair of comfortable shoes in a small carry-on suitcase and go.

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But for 130 Thousand Oaks High School music students who depart for Honolulu on Saturday, packing for a week in the tropics was not that simple.

“You can’t imagine what it is like shipping a sousaphone,” said parent Terry McCallum, who helped organize the trip. “We have seven sousaphones.”

The Thousand Oaks High band, which is lugging five cargo crates full of instruments and uniforms to the islands, is one of two local student groups traveling across the country for music competitions next week.

The Simi Valley High School band departed late Thursday night for Washington, D.C., where they will spend a week touring the nation’s capital and playing in several competitions.

On Saturday, the 75-member group will march down Constitution Avenue in the National Cherry Blossom Parade.

“This particular event is quite an honor for them,” Principal Kathryn Scroggin said. “They are the only California band that will be represented.”

Since both trips coincide with spring break, students will not miss class. In fact, organizers have composed detailed itineraries for the week that include several educational field trips.

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In Washington, Simi students will tour the National Archives, Mount Vernon, Arlington Cemetery, the Lincoln, Jefferson and Vietnam memorials and the Smithsonian Institute museums.

“We are going to hit everything we can in three days,” parent Herman Conant said. “Friday and Saturday will pretty much be competition. . . . We’ll have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for sightseeing.”

Thousand Oaks students will visit Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center on their trip. They also plan to snorkel, sunbathe and watch the surfers at North Shore.

“It’s going to be wonderful,” said Ingrid Skei, a 15-year-old mallet player.

“Some people just do band so they can do the Hawaii trip,” Stephanie Sun, 15, said.

In addition to packing his massive brass sousaphone, senior Bill Hewson tossed a pair of rubber fins and a snorkel in his suitcase. “I’m looking forward to the beach and hanging out with my friends,” he said.

Every four years, Thousand Oaks High’s band takes a long-distance trip to perform outside Southern California. Next week’s musical tour will mark the third time the group has played in Hawaii.

“The trip is primarily a reward and a goal for the students,” said parent Michael Herron, one of 30 chaperons accompanying the band. “They have worked very hard for four years.”

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Since last June, students have been raising money for the trip, which cost each student about $1,100. Simi Valley High students also raised money for their trip, which cost $1,000 apiece.

Both bands have won major competitions locally and will perform at a higher level next week when they face off against musical troupes from across the country.

“They have been practicing hard for it,” Conant said. “They are at their peak.”

In Hawaii, Thousand Oaks High’s concert band, jazz band, wind ensemble, color guard and drum line will participate in individual competitions. On Wednesday, the groups will come together as one unit to march in a parade.

The competitions are part of the Hawaii International Invitational Music Festival, which includes about 25 bands from the U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

“It will be a good competition,” McCallum said. “It’s a wonderful dual purpose to compete against bands they would never see, and, it gives the kids an experience they would never get--it broadens their horizons well beyond Southern California.”