Palmer music groups learn, perform well at Disney World

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — While most high school students can’t say they ever contributed to the making of a billion-dollar-grossing animated film, some Palmer musicians now have an idea of what that feels like.

Some 67 Palmer High School students in Jazz Band, Symphonic Band and Symphonic Choir traveled south to perform at the Walt Disney World Resort and participate in the Disney Performing Arts Program March 4 and 5. Performances around Florida and on a cruise ship to the Bahamas also were planned.

As part of the performing arts program, the Palmer students competed against other large ensembles from around the country at Festival Disney. Although there was no declared winner in the division Palmer music Director Stan Harris chose, groups were given ratings of superior, excellent, good or fair.

Each of the Palmer groups received excellent ratings, he said.

But getting to perform in the festival is “almost a competition in itself,” Harris said, as groups must submit an audition video and be accepted by the adjudicators.

As for the live performances, the judges were “extremely critical” of everything from the groups’ vocal skill to their shoes, which were supposed to match, Harris said.

Such criticism wasn’t exactly new to the Palmer competitors, but for some, the exposure was.

“The feedback (at Festival Disney) and the ability to hear other people is just something that’s not available here,” Harris said.

Alaska does not currently have a format for competitive, large-group music festivals, he said — the ASAA/First National Bank-sponsored All-State competition, for example, is only for solos and small ensembles — making the trip particularly beneficial for young Valley musicians.

“They acquitted themselves very, very well against groups that do this format constantly at much larger schools,” Harris said.

He estimated 3,000 to 4,000 students participated in the festival in between 25 to 30 groups.

For junior flute player Naomi Feaster, playing in front of an audience like that was “kind of nerve-wracking,” she said.

It was her first time participating in an out-of-state competition, she said, and she had a solo. Hearing the judges say Feaster and the Symphonic Band were “really fun to watch,” she said, was music to her ears.

“It was really nice to hear that,” she said. “It just made me a lot more confident in myself and with the people I was playing with.”

Working with a Disney music director on the final day of the tour to produce their own rendition of the “Frozen” soundtrack was another unique opportunity the students enjoyed.

“It was really cool to learn how quick the Disney performers rehearse,” Feaster said. “You just play (the music) one time through, take mental notes on the things that need to be fixed or changed and there you go.”

“It was really amazing,” she said.

On the vocal side of things, sophomore Symphonic Choir vocalist Jarrett Hardy also spoke well of the workshop. The choir received instruction from Heidi Mollenhauer, who is best known for contributing the singing voice of Esmeralda to Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Mollenhauer helped the students perform songs from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

“We sounded really good and it sounded so much like it, it was just a dream come true,” Hardy said.

Since the Florida/Bahamas trip was Hardy’s first time out of the country and second time out of Alaska, what he learned reached beyond musical instruction — things like budgeting and knowing his surroundings, he said, he had to learn the hard way.

But working with his classmates and “people who have actually made it” in the world of music inspired him most, he said.

“It’s just awesome to come together and make music together,” Hardy said.

Junior Kyle Meili, who participated in competitions and workshops with all three groups, agreed.

“Through music I’ve probably made some of my closest friends,” Meili said. “The memories just keep getting better and I figure music is gonna keep doing me good (so) I’m definitely gonna keep playing.”

Meili plays first trombone for both bands, and realized on the trip that he should probably keep his music “a little more organized,” he said.

The Palmer High School music groups have the opportunity to travel for events like Festival Disney every two years, depending on “the needs and skills of the group,” Harris said.

The next Palmer High music concert is May 5.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.