Central Middle's Band Strikes It Up At Disney—And At Home

TINLEY PARK, IL — Central Middle School's band students got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that most people can only dream of: To perform, play and create at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. It was the crème de la crème of an already stellar year for the budding Tinley Park musicians.

Last month, the marching band performed in an audition-only parade through Main Street, U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom. They were the only middle school band chosen from student-level contenders across the globe to march in the parade.

"One of the cool things is the high achievement of students and their intrinsic motivation to be the best they can be," said band director Jason Freeland.

While they were there, the students also had a chance to learn from the masters. The drill team participated in a workshop to learn what it is like to be a professional dancer and choreographer at Disney — coveted jobs open only to elite performers. Goofy, of course, danced with them.

Disney's cartoon masters taught band students how the music for its movies is recorded and combined with animation by using a scene from Mulan as an example. The students played their own song and added it to the video clip so that in the end, they watched the scene with their own music behind it. And, of course, the students explored the theme park after the hard work was done.

This year, Central also hosted the Illinois Grade School Music Association Organizational Contest, in which the school's symphonic and concert bands were both awarded Division One ratings, the highest possible. Earlier in the year, more than 100 band students medaled in solo and ensemble performances, and more than a dozen were invited to participate in the Illinois Music Education Association honors band festival. Band members also performed at the Harmony Square groundbreaking in March.

Although the school year is winding down, the student musicians are still fired up to perform. Tomorrow, members of the symphonic band will attend a music clinic at DePaul University in Chicago, where they will participate in a college-level rehearsal. On Saturday, the concert band participates in a festival at Illinois State University in Normal.

You can hear all of Central's star-studded bands — beginning, symphonic, concert, and jazz — at 6 p.m., Thurs., May 9 at the middle school.