YHS Orchestra and Wind Ensemble Brings Magic to Disney

It took an extraordinary amount of practice, a tough and competitive audition, and 20,000 pounds of grapefruit to get the 90 brilliantly talented musicians of the Yorktown High School Orchestra and Wind Ensemble to the elite Disney Magic Music Days program in Orlando last month, where they earned the rank of Excellent.

The students fund-raised throughout the year to underwrite the cost of the trip, so when two huge truckloads of Florida grapefruit arrived at the high school in December, these tenacious and determined musicians sold every piece of fruit, which collectively weighed more than 10 tons.

These 90 students represented Yorktown High School in the school's first-ever National music festival. In addition to our hometown contingent, there were approximately 90 ensembles and more than 8,000 students in attendance from Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Alabama, Kansas and Canada.

Both YHS ensembles were judged by a committee of professional and university conductors, and the groups also had the opportunity to work with these judges in a clinic. Both the Orchestra and Wind Ensemble honored our district by each earning the ranking of EXCELLENT!

Also as part of this experience, the ensembles participated in Disney's "You're Instrumental" workshop. This clinic emphasized professional performance skills, sight reading, and focusing techniques through the medium of a "mock" studio recording experience. A professional Disney clinician discussed the attitudes and priorities that are essential to musical excellence. This workshop culminated with a professional DVD recording of the ensembles performing music from a Disney animated feature film soundtrack.

This 3-hour Disney workshop experiences exceeded the expectations of the students and faculty, providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse behind the scenes of the music production industry. The Disney clinician was an equally gifted music educator as he was a comedian. The end-product of the clinic was a video-clip of the Little Mermaid, with our Wind Ensemble performing the sound track, and a clip of Beauty and the Beast with our Orchestra performing the sound track. However, unlike our YHS rehearsal format where there are about 30 rehearsals to prepare for one concert, here it was emphasized that in the life of a studio musician they only have ONE rehearsal to get the music right before a soundtrack is recorded. The students learned that they already possess all of the knowledge needed to perform a musical selection effectively; it's just a choice as to their level of focus.

Music faculty members Emily Kluga (Wind Ensemble) and Nancy Torrente (Orchestra) who work so hard and so lovingly with the students commented, " we cannot be more proud of our students! Their level of maturity, musicianship, and their un-ending enthusiasm for each other's company were truly inspiring. To us, that was the most "magical" part of all!"