Ridge Marching Band Parades at Magic Kingdom to Wrap Up Season

The Ridge High School Marching Band capped its season with a march down Main Street at Disney World in Florida this past Saturday afternoon at the "Celebrate a Dream Come True" parade along with Disney cast members and other performing artists. 

The band and color guard's performance was the grand finale of the band's highly successful 2013 season. This fall has brought the band top honors at high caliber competitions and exhibition performances of their show Across the Universe featuring music from The Beatles and Star Trek.

The 81-student member band and its coaching staff, led by Director of Bands Dan Zugale, spent 3 days in Disney World this past weekend. 

Their agenda included many activities in addition to their performance at the Disney parade which was watched by thousands of spectators. The band attended a workshop titled "You're Instrumental" where the students got firsthand interaction with Disney musicians and learnt about a studio recording environment and what is expected of performers. 

The Ridge color guard attended a workshop titled "Auxilaration" which introduced participants to nationally-acclaimed concepts of incorporating flags, props and movement in a musical performance. 

The students gained valuable insights into what judges are looking for in competitions and how to maximize their results.

The students also had some free time to explore the Disney theme parks. At Epcot, they discovered cultures and traditions of 11 countries around the world and saw a glimpse of the future world made possible by the power of imagination. At Hollywood Studios, the action, glamour and thrill of Hollywood movies, television, music and theater came to life.

The trip was organized by the Ridge Marching Band Association, a not-for-profit, parent volunteer organization led by Irma Kieftenbeld, president; Amal Abousleiman, first vice president; Janet Fitzgerald, second vice president; John Paniccia, treasurer; Ann Lauridsen, secretary; Danielle Dewil, fundraising; and Barbara Brooks, member. 

The association board members and many volunteer parents worked tirelessly throughout the season to raise funds and organized numerous details for this memorable trip which the students will cherish for many years to come, said Band publicity manager Roger Gurnani.

It was a clear sunny day on Saturday, with a packed Disney World Magic Kingdom theme park when the Ridge band members and color guard took part in the parade. Cinderella's Castle and Main Street at the center of the park were hustling with guests and activity. A prelude to the famous Disney characters on their floats was provided by the Ridge Marching Band performance. 

he color guard marched in the front followed by the wind and brass instruments and trailed by the drum line and percussion troop. These students marched valiantly with pride representing Ridge High School and the Basking Ridge community.

This was a wonderful finale to a highly successful season, Gurnani said.

In October, the band won third place in the US Bands New Jersey State Championships and won the Cadets Award for Excellence, which recognizes excellence in creativity, performance, and overall effect.

Marching bands from 55 high schools across New Jersey participated in the championships grouped by their size of their ensemble. The level of competition intensified as the day progressed as each band demonstrated a wide spectrum of musical and visual performances. The preparation and performance from each band was outstanding. In group IV-A with sixteen schools competing, Absegami High School came in the first place, Union High School took second place and Ridge High School took the third place.

The US Bands New Jersey State Championships were held on Saturday, October 19th at Rutgers University High Point Solutions Stadium. US Bands is the premier organization that provides high school band programs throughout the country with a competitive circuit featuring the best adjudicators and world class venues for Scholastic Band Championships. The US Bands membership has over 700 participating high school marching bands across the country.

More information about the bands is available at www.ridgemarchingband.com about the Ridge High School Marching Band.