Breckinridge County High School Marching Band Gives Magical Performance at Disney

As the song goes, "It's a small world after all."

There was certainly some proof of that last week when the Breckinridge County High School band got the opportunity to perform at Disney World in Orlando and Disney lovers, from all over the world, were treated to an excellent performance from musicians from small, but mighty Harned, Kentucky!

Yes! Harned was well-represented on Main Street, USA at Disney's Magic Kingdom. That Disney trip is an every four-year tradition at Breckinridge County High School. The directors feel that if they go every four years, each band member will get the opportunity to take that trip at some point during their high school careers.

I got the opportunity to chat with Paul Rotramel, who's Breck County's band director. He says the band "was disappointed not to be able to go last year because of COVID, but this turned out to be a great year to go because it coincides with Disney World's 50th Anniversary."

To get the official invite, the band had to submit an application and performance videos.  The folks at Disney then selected them and assigned them a date and time to perform.  And, according to Mr. Rotramel, "Almost all the members of the Breckinridge Fighting Tiger Marching Band made the journey" to Florida.  There were 42 students total on the trip and they ranged from 7th through the 12th grade.

In addition to marching and playing on Main Street USA, the band got to experience an "awesome, jam-packed, week-long experience" that included stops at:

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Universal Studios

and Disney's Magic Kingdom

The Breckinridge County Fighting Tiger Marching Band took part in the parade on  Wednesday, April 6th, at 8:20am central time. They were featured in the Magic Kingdom's "Morning March" and played a fun, upbeat arrangement of "It's a Small World."  The parade route took them from Adventureland, up Main Street USA towards Cinderella's Castle, and they exited the park in Frontierland.

Mr. Rotramel says that, though it was early in the morning, the crowds were still huge.    He says, "The park was very crowded and the streets were lined with people cheering the band on, singing along, and clapping in time with the music."

There's no doubt it was a magical experience for the students and staff involved. Here's a look at their performance!