Honor Society

A Passion for Sharing Ideas

For accompished High School ensembles, The Disney Honors offers an unbeatable performance opportunity–and the chance to work with distinguished music educators like Frank Ticheli.
by Sean McDevitt

Ask renowned composer Frank Ticheli what he likes most about his association with The Disney Honors National Concert Band, Orchestra and Choral Invitational at Walt Disney World Resort, and his answer comes easily.

"You're getting a select group of bands," Ticheli says of some of the nation's finest high-school bands, orchestras and choral ensembles. "As a result, you get students who have a passion for music and sharing ideas, and I love that."

Ticheli is the composer of "An American Elegy," a work that honors the victims and survivors of the tragic April 20, 1999, shootings at Columbine High School. The composition's premiere took place in Boulder, Colorado at a joint concert by Columbine High School and the University of Colorado-Boulder Wind Ensemble. "For the premiere of 'An American Elegy,' all of the university players left the stage, leaving only the Columbine High School Band, with me conducting," Ticheli remembers. "It was very powerful and emotional, and to this day, 'An American Elegy' is one of my most personal and special pieces."

Ensembles that take part in The Disney Honors, which is a non-competitive event, receive invitations based on the strength of their submitted materials. Once selected, they enjoy the chance to work with distinguished evaluators like

Ticheli. "After we've heard each ensemble perform," Ticheli explains, "we meet with the band and work with them in post-performance clinics. That's where the real fun happens–working with them after the fact."

Ticheli, a professor of composition at the University of Southern California's Thorton School of Music and a Disney Honors evaluator, is just one of the distinguished figures who play key roles in the non-competitive event.

"Overall, the level of talent is very high, and the quality of the music these ensembles perform is very good," he says. "That's very important. The groups aren't performing literature that I'd find either boring or cliché. There's a high-quality artistic level."

The Disney Honors takes place each spring, and invitations to participate are based on the merits of each group's submitted materials.

Visit www.disneyhonors.com for more information.

Fast Facts:

The Disney Honors

Who: High-school band, orchestra, and choral ensembles

Where: Throughout the Walt Disney World Resort

When: March 7-10, 2008, March 6-9, 2009