Thomas County Central High School Bands program brought its own brand of musical magic to one of the most enchanted places on Earth.

The program’s youth musicians sparkled at Festival Disney in Orlando April 19-21. All three bands – Blue, Gold and Jazz – received Gold Superior scores in each of their performances and “Best in Class” awards. Gold band earned the Silver Top Award for concert scoring. Jazz band also received the Silver Top Award.

“The performances were without doubt the finest our TCC bands have performed this school year,” program director Michael Thomas said. “I would say I'm respectfully proud of all three performances by our students. They all stepped up to many difficult challenges to make this event very successful. It has been a long journey to this point and the reward in being a part of their development is tremendous.”

Senior Doren Barrientes won Outstanding Jazz Soloist, an award Barrientes says he was determined to have a shot at winning as soon as he heard of it.

“When the time came for the award to be announced and my name was called, I was overwhelmed with relief and excitement,” he said. “I came onto the stage, gave Mickey Mouse a huge hug and accepted my award.”

Assistant director Paul Johns is extremely proud of all the TCCHS bands and says the students were great throughout the trip’s duration.

“The awards and ratings speak for themselves,” he said. “The preparation, practice and hard work really paid off. The judges’ comments were very positive also. The level of performance attained is a testament to the commitment and preparation level of each of the students in the Blue, Gold, and Jazz bands.”

Festival Disney is an annual event held inside Disney World Florida. TCCHS attends every other year. The program’s band boosters and students fundraise to earn money to cover costs to attend the esteemed competition. Bands from across the country and around the world compete. Thomas noted bands from Canada, England and Brazil this year.

Thursday evening both the Blue and Gold bands performed for Festival Disney judges at the Ballroom of the Americas in the Contemporary Resort. Students were treated to a pizza celebration and received commemorative shirts and hats at the hotel following the performances.

Gold band member Kasey Bradley says her favorite part of the experience was just having the opportunity to compete.

“It was an honor just to be there,” she said.

Bradley, a trumpeter, is proud of the entire band and feels the hard work paid off. Preparing for and taking part in such a prestigious competition also taught her an important lesson.

“I learned that you really need to feel confident in your playing ability to do well,” she said. “This helped me in becoming a better musician in so many ways. It helped me in both jazz and concert band because you can’t play with uncertainty and still do well.”

Thomas says positive remarks about the students’ skill levels in both bands and the county school system’s support of the fine arts were made during the judges’ clinic after the TCCHS performances.

“Our TCC musicians had fantastic displays of musicianship and creativity,” Thomas said.

Jazz band performed at the Atlantic Dance Hall in Disney Springs on Friday morning.

Senior trombonist Michael Moody, 17, performed in the Gold and Jazz bands.

“I felt really good about our performances,” Moody says. “I feel like it was the best we ever played. My favorite area was definitely the jazz band because of how fun the music was and the excitement. I rocked out on ‘Work Song.’”

The rest of Friday was spent at the Magic Kingdom. Most of Saturday was expended at Animal Kingdom, followed by a move to Typhoon Lagoon in the evening for a special beach dance party and awards ceremony only open to the festival’s performing groups.

The youth musicians also carried their Yellow Jacket pride with them throughout the event.

“It should be known that our students were constantly noted for their behavior, kindness and friendly attitudes by many strangers throughout the performance trip,” Thomas said. “Everyone on time, being prepared, helping each other as a team, [and] giving their best.”

Sophomore Caitlyn Atkinson, who plays both the flute (Gold band) and the oboe (Blue band), is thankful to have a band program like the one currently at TCCHS.

“Festival Disney proved to me how blessed we are to have such an amazing band program that can come together and perform beautiful music,” she said.