By Erich Martin
The Pennsbury High School Band took a six day trip to California last month to be a part of a Disney parade and play at a famous jazz club in Hollywood.
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One hundred eleven students made the excursion to California.
“The trip was a lot of fun. It was cool playing for some of the best musicians in the country,” David Simon, the student director of the Pennsbury Concert Jazz Band, said.
Jimmy Smith, the drum major of the marching band said, “Disney was of the better moments. It was a great opportunity to march down Main Street and see all of the smiling faces appreciating our presence.”
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There were two aspects to the trip, according to Frank Mazzeo, the band’s director, “[We] did a parade down Main Street USA, Magic Kingdom in Disney World. We also played at the Catalina Jazz Club.”
The Catalina Jazz Club is a very prominent jazz club and bar in Hollywood.
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At the Catalina Jazz Club, the jazz band performed and got critiqued by a number of famous musicians.
Notable adjudicators at the club included Rick Baptist, Bill Watrous, Steven Aho, and Ryan Perez-Dapple. Bill Watrous is famous among those not acutely aware if jazz through his interpretation of adults speaking in the classic “Peanuts” cartoons.
“[The trip was] very successful, the kids had a great time,” explained Mazzeo. “We had mostly new chaperones, but it was still easier than international travel,” Mazzeo joked.
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The Pennsbury Marching Band has a rich history of world travel, including a trip to Hong Kong in 2008, London in 2010, and Beunos Aires, Argentina in 2012. The marching band has traveled to and performed at every Disney theme park throughout the world, earning itself the nickname, “The Mickey Mouse Band.”
When asked about trips in the future, Mazzeo said “We have a great, intriguing offer to go out of the country in 2016.”
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The band is expected to make another trip in 2016 to as yet an undetermined destination.
