Cedar Springs — Members of the Cedar Springs High School marching band got to be unofficial district ambassadors to the Magic Kingdom and the Lorax’s fabled land of Thneedville on a recent visit to Disney World and Universal Studios in Florida.
During mid-winter break, about 70 students participated in the trip through Disney’s Imagination Campus program, culminating in a parade performance along Main Street USA. The music selection for the parade included three songs from the movie “Frozen,” as well as Cedar Springs’ cadence and fight song.
Band director Matthew Nabozny said students performed for up to 30,000 people at Disney, and called the trip a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for the young musicians.
Senior Avery Columbo and junior Isabella Galperin — both drum majors — were among the Red Hawks in attendance, and they agreed that the trip was unforgettable.
“It was just really cool to be on such a big stage and have that huge honor to perform there, because that’s just not something everybody gets to do,” Isabella said. “It was just … a great experience, and something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Added Avery: “Leading the band through Magic Kingdom, it was like a last hurrah for my senior year.”
The group also participated in a movie soundtrack workshop at Universal Studios, during which students played and recorded music from “The Lorax” and learned how sound effects and dialogue are recorded.
“The workshop was cool because it was an actual sound-producing studio,” Avery said. “They’ve recorded some sound effects for movies there, and it was really cool to do.”
Avery and Isabella said the Universal trip helped them appreciate the hard work that goes into soundtracking and dubbing movies.
“I have a newfound respect for professional musicians who just play and make music, and the overall process to make a movie, sound-wise,” said Isabella. “It really adds a dimension that, if it was taken away, it would be much different.”
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