NEWPORT — Two years ago, Izzy Rudnik of Texas and Poland, a world-renowned clarinetist, brought a group of Polish high-school students to the United States. They toured American high schools and the experience was so successful that Rudnik decided to reverse the project.

On April 6, two Nokomis Regional High School band members will join 10 other Maine high school musicians for a weeklong musical tour of Europe. “When the Krakow jazz combo was here,” said Jared Tardy, one of the two Nokomis students, “I sat in with them. They spoke no English but we became friends based on a shared love of the music. I think it is the universal language.”

Tardy said that he and Andrew Gallagher will revisit those musicians while they are on the tour. “It won’t be your traditional tour of Europe,” said Tardy. “We will be staying with host families.” Gallagher added, “We will be placed with another musician, one that probably plays a similar instrument to ours.”

The trip includes stops in Krakow, Poland; Vienna, Austria; and Prague, Czechoslovakia. It will culminate in an Eastern Bloc competition with 25 other high school and college jazz combos. “Now that all the borders are down,” said Tardy, “this is the first time that such a competition with all Eastern Bloc countries has been possible.”

Tardy and Gallagher were chosen to participate in the combo because of their musical expertise and their participation in the Maine Jazz Camp under the director of Brad Terry.

The two students have received financial support for their trip expenses from local businesses and Tardy said that the television show “60 Minutes” is expected to provide coverage of the tour.

Aside from containing their excitement regarding the trip, Tardy and Gallagher said that their greatest challenge right now is learning enough of the Polish language to be able to communicate with their host families.