By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – Joining the ranks of the high school marching band elite are the Wildcats of East St. John as they have been invited to Dallas to perform in the 2007 Cotton Bowl, one of College Football’s most prestigious bowl games.

The band will perform in the halftime activities during the Cotton Bowl as well as a host of other events as part of a three-day festival of music.

East St. John becomes only the second high school band in the metro New Orleans area to compete in national band competitions in consecutive years.

The band also competed in last year’s U.S. Army National Band Competition in San Antonio.

The trip is expected to cost about $50,000 for a total of approximately 120 students, or about $600 per student, which East St. John band director Joe Torregano said will be raised primarily through various fundraisers.

&#8220We’ve got a concert scheduled, and oldies dance, and a golf tournament,” Torregano said.

&#8220Anything that can’t be raised will be covered by the student out of pocket.”

Torregano returned to teach in St. John after an 18-year stint with the New Orleans public school system. In the three years since his return, the East St. John band has won 16 awards but Torregano has no intention of slowing down.

&#8220I’m hoping to eventually get us in to the Rose Bowl or the Macy’s Thanksgiving parades,” Torregano said.

So far the band has managed to raise $4,000 from local businesses for the Cotton Bowl trip but are still actively seeking donations.

Anyone willing to contribute can contact East St. John High at (985) 536-4226 or Torregano at (504) 452-8946.