Band gets top rating at Festival Disney

A group of 88 band students made the trip plus a host of staff members and chaperones. The students worked (some for four years) to raise money for the trip, during which they visited four Disney parks and Universal Studios during their stay in Orlando, Fla., during the Nevada R-5 School District's spring break.

The Nevada High School Marching Tigers Band competed in band contest at Festival Disney in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, March 9. Their exemplary performance earned them a "1" Rating, the highest possible.

The contest weekend was attended by 28 middle-school, junior-high and high-school groups from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Con-necticut and Florida competing. These included marching bands, jazz ensembles, orchestras, choral ensembles, show choirs and auxiliary units.

All together, the 2012 Festival Disney season will have included 225 groups from not only most of the USA, but also international schools from the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Scotland, Canada and Japan in this annual event.

Judges for these events include music professors from colleges and universities like Duquesne, Notre Dame, Auburn, Texas Tech and Washburn, as well as the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music and the American Bandmasters Association from Tennessee Tech University.

Besides judging, these contest personnel also "provide detailed, positive feedback through written and recorded comments, as well as personalized feedback clinics following concert performances," informational materials said.

The band got an early start on their March 12-16 spring break, leaving Nevada in a pair of chartered buses on Thursday afternoon, March 8, in order to arrive in time for Friday evening's performance.

After the competition, the band spent the next five days at Disney World -- Saturday at Hollywood Studios, Sunday at Animal Kingdom, Monday at Universal's Islands of Adventure, and Tuesday at Magic Kingdom. and Wednesday at Epcot.

According to Band Director Tom Meyer, this "is a pretty big deal. It was a high-rated performance in an amazing venue!"

A group of 88 band students made the trip plus a host of staff members and chaperones.

It was also a spring break the 2011-'12 NHS Marching Tigers will long remember and cherish, parents and grandparents affirmed.

A group of 88 band students made the trip plus a host of staff members and chaperones.