The Pullman High School orchestra was accepted to the Disney Imagination Camp Experience and Professional Workshop and is hosting a Disney and Desserts Fundraiser to raise money before their trip in April.
PHS senior Naomi Carter plays the cello; she said for the workshop, the orchestra will go to Disneyland and perform at one of the parks. There will be a specific time they will perform for whoever is attending the park.
Carter said the orchestra will also have the chance to participate in a recording session.
“We’ll get music that they’ll give us at the park and we’ll just sightread it and then it will go along with a Disney movie,” she said. “The audio of the movie will be performed and played by us.”
At the Disney and Desserts event, the orchestra will be performing Disney music with desserts and crafts made by students available for purchase, she said.
PHS orchestra teacher Katharine Covill said she is looking forward to the students interacting with young children who will hopefully be at the event.
The high school students will have the opportunity to walk the younger children through the orchestra as they play, Covill said.
“That’s always kind of fun and powerful for little kids to see,” she said. “They’ll be dressed as Disney characters, so I think it’s going to be really heartwarming.”
The Disney trip is beneficial to students because it is a once-in-a-lifetime high school experience to perform on a bigger stage with the magic of Disney as part of that experience, which most people do not get to do until they become a professional musician, Covill said.
PHS sophomore Rhys Gotch plays bass for the orchestra; he said he is looking forward to traveling a long distance with his friends because most school trips are only an hour or two away.
“Playing in such a well-known location like Disneyland [is] something I don’t think a lot of people get a chance to do, so that will be cool,” Gotch said. “Getting to record music in an actual recording studio will be really great because getting to see our music played along with an actual Disney movie is a pretty neat experience.”
Naomi said it will be a good experience to play on a bigger scale because they have played a lot for their parents in previous performances, but they do not always have the opportunity to perform for this large of an audience.
“Playing Disney music and playing an orchestra is always an amazing time,” she said. “It’s just another time we get to spend together and bond.”
The Disney and Desserts event will be from 6—8 p.m. Oct. 21 at Pullman High School. Tickets will be $5 for youth and seniors and $10 for adults.
Tickets will be sold at the door with dessert included in the tickets, and are cash and check only. Donation opportunities will be available inside, but online donations are available as well.
