On March 13, many band members woke up hours before the beginning of the school day and sleepily slid out of bed, shut off the alarm and got in their cars to come to the high school. At two o’clock in the morning, students said goodbye to their parents and hopped out of the car to jostle through the cold, chilly night into the bright, flourescent light of the band room. The room, full of students more sleep-deprived than usual, buzzed with excitement at the thought of arriving in Orlando, Florida within hours.
Eager to trade hoodies and pajama pants for shorts and sunglasses, the band rushed into Magic Kingdom early Friday morning. While friends back in Mountain Lakes were stuck shivering inside, bundled up on a snow day, band kids were running around in the most magical place on Earth. Countless memories were made bonding with classmates while standing in line for Splash Mountain, watching the fireworks, and taking pictures in front of the Tower of Terror. Few experiences are more enchanting than eating a Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream outside of Cinderella’s castle or watching Mickey and Minnie wave to the crowd from their float in the parade. One of the highlights of the trip was rehearsing with a Disney music professional in an instrumental workshop.
Even the most avid Disney World enthusiast may not know that behind the gelato stand in Epcot’s Italy there are hidden buildings containing recording studios where band students can participate in special Disney musical workshops and clinics. The purpose of the “You’re Instrumental” Disney Performing Arts workshop is to sight-read, practice and record a performance of Disney music selections in a professional studio environment. Each 2 ½ hour workshop is guided by an experienced Disney Teaching Artist. The professional musician that met with the Mountain Lakes Band was Allen Gray.
As a clinician and guest conductor, Allen Gray has worked with hundreds of bands from around the world. Throughout his career, he has composed and arranged music for bands as well as produced recording sessions for television and movies. Mr. Gray shared stories with us about his life as a professional musician from preparing for performances to developing content for workshop curriculums. He discussed the requirements of a studio recording environment and the expectations surrounding professional musicians that perform at Disney.
During the clinic, the band started out with selections from Mary Poppins and The Nightmare Before Christmas. At the end of the clinic, bands create a recording of the ensemble performing Disney music soundtrack accompanied by the footage from the animated film. For our piece, the band performed “Stampede” from the Lion King. Afterwards, we were able to watch the movie clip with our band audio playing in the background. It was exciting to be able to experience the process of rehearsing like professional musicians and producing a final product to take home. Don’t ask me why our conductor happened to select the most tragic and devastating scene from any Disney movie ever, but despite watching Simba nearly get trampled and Mufasa on the verge of falling to
his death, it was truly a magical experience.
The next day, the band traveled to Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex, for the performance. The stage was set up under a pavilion in front of the lake with rows of seating for guests to gather and listen. As we walked on stage, there were already groups of people gathered to hear the performance. For months leading up to the trip, the band members traveling to Disney had practiced the pieces for the rehearsal. The selections prepared included a pirate-themed song called “Buccaneer Hornpipe,” “El Toro” written by Mr. Bernotas, and a medley of songs from Disney’s classic Beauty and the Beast. Many Disney guests murmured with excitement at the beginning of Beauty and the Beast and even little kids recognized the song. Playing music from one of the defining movies of my childhood in the place “where dreams come true” was a memory I will never forget. The 2017 band trip to Disney was an incredible experience and I hope to return soon to the happiest place on Earth.
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