As the automated voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, the La Cañada HIgh School Advanced Orchestra!”, our high school orchestra strode onto the stage in front the Monsters Inc. ride at Disneyland, instruments in hand. The songs that they played consisted of pop songs like “How Does A Moment Last Forever” from “Beauty and the Beast” and the “La La Land Medley.” They also played some songs full of different styles and beats like “Orange Blossom Special,” Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” and “Romanian Dances” by Bela Bartok.
Immediately after the pieces were finished, the entire orchestra rushed to the changing room and got ready to spend the rest of January 24th exploring Disneyland. They all grabbed their backpacks and sunglasses and lined up to get their complementary entry ticket to either California Adventure or Disneyland.
Although many of the rides were closed, it was a great bonding experience for the upperclassmen and the new freshmen members of the orchestra. As Michael Sun (12) excitedly mentioned, “I had such a fun time and even though there were a lot of rides closed. The food was great, and I just really enjoyed my last time at Disneyland as a senior with the school orchestra.”
