IRVINE

Getting ready to pack their violins and head to Washington, D.C., for this year’s National High School Honors Orchestra, three Irvine students couldn’t quite remember who would be swinging the baton at the big event. (For the record, it’s Takao Kanayama, the National Symphony Orchestra’s assistant conductor.)

But working with famous conductors is just part of what University High School students Susan Kang and Steven Tsai and Irvine High School’s Johanna Kroesen are looking forward to. It’s the experience of playing with the country’s best student musicians that will make the trip worthwhile.

The four-day trip, which costs about $600 and has to be paid for by the students, will culminate in a concert March 11. Compositions by Richard Strauss, Aaron Copland and Maurice Ravel are on the program.