Experiencing some of Disney’s magic

In nature, when an eagle and mouse come together, the outcome is fairly predictable.

But when you bring an Eagle and a Mouse together, the outcome is far from predictable and can actually be a bit magical, as proven this past weekend.

Thirty-six members of the Boulder City High School choir, under band director Dr. Brendan Holly, left last Friday morning at 3 a.m. aboard buses bound for the Happiest Place on Earth to take part in Disneyland’s Imagination Campus.

According to the Campus’ website, “Student vocalists will learn a repertoire of Disney music and hone fundamental skills including breath control, diction and sight-reading. They’ll also discover how phrasing and dynamics can add emotion to any piece of music. They will learn from Disney music professionals—teaching-artists who will give them group singing lessons, oversee vocal productions in soundtrack sessions and share insights about the high expectations of being a professional singer and how to succeed in this highly competitive field.”

Sophomores Pamela-Grace Long and Vlad Anderson, as well as freshman Ella Smith were among those who went. But before doing so, the choir did a variety of fundraisers starting in September to help cover the cost of around $500 per student, which paid for the bus, hotel, ticket to the park and the Imagination Campus.

“You didn’t have to go, but personally, I did because I wanted to get that experience because potentially, it’s something I want to do later in life,” Smith said.

Anderson agreed that this was a great opportunity not only for himself but his fellow choir members.

“I was pretty excited because I really want to learn how professionals record their voices into animation. It was pretty fun but hard at the same time,” he said.

In essence, the Imagination Campus is an elaborate recording session for the students. According to Disney, the workshop allows students to:

• Work directly with Disney teaching-artists—who are professional singers working in the music industry.

• Study and sing Disney songs and arrangements from iconic Disney films, which are exclusive to this performing arts workshop.

• Be treated as professional singers in a recording studio environment.

• Gain insight into careers in the recording and film industry through Q &A with their Disney teaching-artist.

• Have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of our theme parks with specially priced tickets.

The BCHS kids sang two songs that came from the movies “The Princess and the Frog” and “Moana.”

Long said the class got to go behind the scenes of Disneyland and were taken to a small recording studio, which had been used in the past for a variety of Disney films and where they saw photos of Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews recording for “Mary Poppins.” The kids sang and recorded their two songs from the aforementioned movies.

“We got to experience how the process works of going through a recording and audio design,” Smith said. “It wasn’t a very prolonged process. We got our voices put over the movie and it synced up. It was a very clean process.”

Anderson added, “It was pretty cool to hear our voices over some of the clips. For me, ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to perform in a movie. It was almost like a dream for me.”

It was an added bonus for Long being that “Princess and the Frog” is one of her all-time favorite Disney movies.

“It was just so crazy to me that we got to be in that clip,” she said. “It was just so cool.”

Smith agreed and added, “It gave us this boost of confidence that we could do something like that if we really wanted to. But we know it takes a lot of practice and dedication to do so.”

No prep time

The catch was, while the students were familiar with the two songs they sang, they were not told ahead of time of what they’d be singing. Rather, they were given the songs just minutes before the recording light came on.

“It felt like it was kind of the overall experience to be thrown into it without knowing what we’d be singing,” Long said. “I think, had we been able to practice ahead of time, it would have slightly taken away from the experience. Because we didn’t know, I think that’s what helped all of us get so focused on what we were doing.”

“Amazing,” “a dream come true,” and “so exciting” were the responses from the three when asked what it was like hearing their voices in the movie clip.

BCHS was one of many schools participating in the program this past weekend, which included Boulder City’s Garrett Junior High and other Las Vegas-area schools.

Holly, who last year took the school’s band on a similar trip, said he was very proud of his choir students.

“I want to expose the students to opportunities they may not normally have,” he said. “It’s always nice when the (Disney) clinician is saying similar things and reinforcing things you talk about during class. There’s always a real sense of pride for me, especially when things really begin to click for them.”

BCHS Principal Amy Wagner joined the choir on the trip and said the experience for the students was “amazing.”

“Our students got to learn Disney music from a teaching artist and record their voices in a studio environment,” she said. “It was awesome to see our students’ confidence grow after working with the Disney professional. I feel that our students came away from the experience with a new perspective while creating magical memories that will last forever.”