Disney Sings

Magic with a Message

A choir's trip to a Disney Performing Arts Workshop underlines some long-term lessons.

by Emile Menasché

Amy Wallace, choir director of North Cobb Christian School's North Atlanta School of the Arts, teaching kids to sing is all about preparing them for real-world performance. "I tell the kids to be as versatile as possible because that will give them the best chance of finding work," says Wallace, who performed extensively in both secular and worship settings before settling down at Cobb Christian. So when an opportunity presented itself to get professional instruction at a Disney Performing Arts Workshop, Wallace jumped on it.

Wallace's isn't a typical high school program. NASOTA, which started with just 10 kids, focuses on visual art, theater, dance and vocal arts. Today there are 35 students in total. "They study music theory and songwriting with a Christian focus," Wallace says. "We train them in leading worship."

But based on her years of experience in the field, Wallace feels that the students must be as well-rounded as possible. "It's been a fun challenge to train the kids to be versatile, to do different genres and different projects," she says. "We cover classical, country, Christian, and pop."

Wallace's message was reinforced by Disney's clinician, Amy Milton. "She said there are different 'rooms' for your voice," Wallace recalls. "And she encouraged the kids to enter them all."

Preparation for the trip started back in October 2007, when the group put together a demo CD. Wallace was hopeful her ensemble would be accepted. "I wanted them to hear what it took to be a Disney performer," she says.

A strong audition CD got them accepted to perform at Walt Disney World Resort. The next step was to fund the trip. Fortunately, a sponsor—the parents of a former student— stepped up. "Steve and Kathy Caroll, whose son Jake had been with us, have been big supporters," Wallace says. "They'd donated a sound system in the past, and were happy to help even though Jake was no longer in the program." When an anonymous donor chipped in to provided transportation for the entire group, the choir was set for the drive to the Magic Kingdom.

"The trip down was a real bonding experience— we usually break up and travel in individual cars," Wallace says. "We had lots of laughs." The bonding continued between performances as the group took time to hang out, swim, work on their tans and take in the Theme Parks.

On arrival, everyone was excited—and a little nervous. "Myke Munson from Straight A Tours met us when we got there, calmed us down and helped us get settled," Wallace recalls. Soon, however, it was time to get down to the serious business of Disney Sings.

"The kids thought it would be another 'boring' workshop, because we do them at the school regularly where people come and lecture," Wallace says. "But Amy Milton challenged them right off the bat. We started with some stretching, then vocalese exercises."

The group's mission was to master a Lion King medley, which, Wallace says, forced them to move outside their individual comfort zones in order to play the characters. "She made them try different voices," Wallace recalls. "Sean [Meara], for example, has an operatic voice, but for the main character, Simba, she got him to sing with a pop sound. Michael [Motter] had a similar challenge to sing Timon. She got him to explore his voice. Sarah [Moore-Ragusin] had to do the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' as Ursula the villain from The Little Mermaid. It was good for them to try out new sounds."

After the session—"The three hours flew by," Wallace says—the group kicked back and went to Epcot, followed by dinner.

"In the morning, the Disney folks helped us get warmed up and ready for the show," Wallace says. "But the best part was that they made us feel like part of the Cast. Jerry the announcer and Ty the sound engineer were so great and helpful. As we waited, you could feel the energy. Then Ty said, 'Here we go' and the stage started rising. We just let out a deep breath and went for it. The kids just did awesome, and after it was over, everyone jumped for joy."

Still buzzing from the performance, the group headed for Space Mountain, dinner, and a night in the pool before heading home the next day. But they took back more than a tan and the afterglow of a fun trip.

"The sessions really stretched the kids, and me, too," Wallace says. "In a lot of ways, it reiterated what I said in class and underlined it: Stretch, warm up, and don't stick to just classical or pop sounds, but master both. In terms of working with the ensemble, it reminded me of the things I can do to stretch and challenge them. My only wish is that [Milton] could have heard them do one of their own pieces and critique them on that. We do community programs throughout the year—some in church, some secular—and in hindsight, I wish I'd learned more Disney songs. We've added three new ones and we will continue to use them."

In the end, it was the blend of fun and functionality that made their Disney Performing Arts Workshop so memorable. "Our students keep a performance resume, and I told them to include this because Disney matters to so many people," Wallace says. "It brought the students closer together and taught them to be more professional. Then they got to experience the performance of a lifetime."

Fast Facts:

Disney Performing Arts Workshops

What: A chance to work with Disney Entertainment professionals in a hands on workshop designed to strengthen performance skills

Who: Instrumental, choral and dance groups

Find Out More: To find out more about Disney Performing Arts Workshops, visit disneyworkshops.com