Harrisburg High school band rocks Disney World

The Harrisburg High School Marching Band managed to dodge the rain when it performed at Disney World Thursday in a marching extravaganza that made its director proud.

Hannah Drake, music director for Harrisburg High School, said the performance was an excellent representation of the talent and hard work of her band students.

"Overall, I think the trip was a huge success," Drake said. "As a program, I expect our kids to represent the school, the town and the band the best they can in the best possible light. I think they accomplished that with the trip to Disney.

"They were extremely polished and professional and I couldn't be happier or more proud of how well they played."

The band and color guard, accompanied by Drake and parent chaperones, left Harrisburg last Sunday night at about 10 p.m. Some band parents and families flew and others drove to meet the band at the Disney complex near Kissimmee, Fla.

Students got to explore the various amusement parks and also to meet for a workshop one morning of the trip.

Though much of the region had seen dry weather for the five months preceding the band's trip, the skies were wet much of last week, causing concern from students and parents alike whether the parade would be washed out.

After raining almost the entire morning Thursday, though, the weather turned dry that early evening as the band performed a thundering rendition of "Galeon" by Victor Lopez behind the thrilling flag-twirling display of the color guard.

The band made its way from the Main Street Square at the Magic Kingdom entrance, down Main Street to Cinderella Castle before turning and concluding in Frontierland.

"They've been preparing and practicing a long time for this, and it showed," Drake said. "They made us proud."