MOULTRIE — For two Colquitt County teen-agers preparing for an 8,500-mile odyssey, the lazy days of summer will be few and far between.

Rachel Foster and Teal Ewer began preparing in December for the two-month tour that will take them along much of the East Coast and as far north as Minnesota. That was when the first auditions were held for the Teal Sound Drum & Bugle Corps, which is in its 11th season.

For Ewer, 18, who recently graduated from Colquitt County High School, it will be his second year playing trumpet in the series of events that culminates with a finals competition Aug. 8 in Indianapolis.

Foster, 17, will be in the color guard of the 135-member corps.

Both began playing in the band while in middle school and were in the 50th Regiment Marching Band as well as the jazz and symphonic bands. Foster is in the marching band’s color guard and plays saxophone in jazz and symphonic bands.

“Since I’ve been on the guard in high school, I’ve developed a strong passion and wanted to push myself more so I auditioned for Teal Sound,” she said.

Foster and Ewer will go to Thomasville on Saturday for 10 days of training before departing on the tour. During that time a friends and family show will be held June 20.

Ewer, who will attend Valdosta State University in the fall as a jazz performance major on trumpet, said the tour is a great opportunity.

“I think it’s a very unique experience,” he said. “You’ll make friends you’ll have forever. That’s why I joined Teal Sound, because I wanted to have a serious, professional experience.

“It’s great, not just for your resume. There are skills you learn there that you can’t learn anyplace else.”

The shows on the tour are well-attended, Ewer said.

“There’s a lot of people who come to our shows, especially up North, Ewer said. “Drum corps was really big in the ’70s, I think, so a lot of kids come with their parents.”

The summer tour starts with a performance in Erie, Pa., and includes stops in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, Valdosta, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Along the way they also will play a number of parades and festivals, particularly July 4.

The corps travels on three chartered buses, accompanied by two semi trucks that carry equipment and food.