Excited voices fill the music room as students chat about the upcoming trip to Orlando, Florida. The marching band and symphony orchestra will be taking their talents to Universal Studios on March 13-17, with the band parading throughout the parks and the orchestra recording music in professional sessions.
The trip has been going on for decades. According to band and orchestra director Mr. Nicholas Pignataro, the music department settled on an alternating schedule, going to Disney World or Universal every other year, so students wouldn’t end up at the same park twice over their four years.
Evening rehearsals for the marching band started on Monday, Feb. 9. In total, there will be three evening rehearsals, with the bandfront rehearsing in the gym and the band practicing in the music room. The band will be playing two songs: “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and “The Wizard and I” from Wicked.
After the band parades through Universal, the orchestra will play through the soundtrack of “Despicable Me” in a recording studio.
“On a separate day, they go into a studio, and they play through the music of ‘Despicable Me’ with a professional musician with click tracks and headphones,” Pignataro said. “Then what happens is they record us, they set that music to footage of ‘Despicable Me,’ and they send us home with that.”
While the students anticipate and get excited for the trip, a lot happens behind the scenes.
“[The planning] for every trip starts about one and a half to two years in advance, so as soon as you’re done with one trip, you have a couple months and it’s time to plan for the next one,” Pignataro said.
Not only does planning take a long time, there are also specific details Pignataro is responsible for.
“There’s everything from organizing rooms to asking and planning for chaperones, flight and hotel rooming lists, safety checks, first aid itinerary, weighing instruments, etc., so a lot goes into planning,” Pignataro said.
Senior student director, silks team captain, and danceline member Sonya Blum has been preparing bandfront for the trip. Since most skills were taught during the band season, learning the routines is much faster.
“It was my job during the band season to get my team ready, teach them parade marching, and teach them the skills so that by the time the band trip rolls around, I don’t have to put as much work into teaching the skills that we need there,” Blum said.
Freshman silks member Ellie Kennedy looks forward to the trip.
“I think everybody’s pretty excited,” Kennedy said. “I’m excited to be able to run around Universal with friends and be in the sun.”
The trip takes a lot of time and preparation, as well as a financial commitment of $1,675 per traveler.
“So [the students] do two performances, but they will also learn how to or reinforce how to be citizens in the world,” Pignataro said. “This is the best part. You learn to thank the flight attendant, learn to help someone, you have to learn how to share, all that kind of stuff.”
Blum cherishes her last year of having the opportunity to travel with the band.
“The night rehearsals, they’re so long and late, and it’s a Monday, but it’s so worth it,” Blum said. “Just definitely enjoy it, because you only do it twice, and some people do it once. Even if it doesn’t seem fun, it’s such a good experience and you just cherish every single moment.”
