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Marching Band performs in Florida

Lead Summary
,
By
Mavis Fodness

Seventy-two Luverne High School band members and nine chaperones left Sunday for a five-day trip to Florida.
The students played Tuesday as part of Disney’s Performing Arts Series.
Their marching performance took them down Main Street U.S.A. in the Magic Kingdom Park in a program they began preparing for last fall.
LHS band director Richard Owen said students performed their “Disney Parade Sequence,” the same performance parade-goers saw at the Tri-State Band Festival in September and at Buffalo Days earlier this month on Main Street Luverne.
However, the band’s performance at Magic Mountain had a twist at the request of Walt Disney World performance organizers concerned about viewers’ safety.
“They wanted fewer formations,” Owen said. “And they did not want colorguard throwing flags.”
What was taken out in maneuvers was more than made up for in the band’s performance of “Mickey Mouse March” and “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” popular songs associated with Walt Disney.
While students and chaperones left by plane Sunday morning, their instruments, band uniforms and luggage were loaded Thursday night, June 20. The pickup and trailer, driven by Nate and Molly Golla, left Friday morning for the 1,600-mile drive to the band’s hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
In addition to marching at Magic Kingdom Park, students also visited Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studio, Universal Studios and Pleasure Island.
Students arrive back to Luverne early Friday morning, which is also Owen’s last day as the LHS band director.
He accepted a position as band director of the Sauk Rapids-Rice High School band next school year.
“It’s hard,” he said of his decision to leave Luverne. “These have been such a good group of students.”
Owen came to Luverne in 2013, when the current seniors were beginning band students.
Four years ago the band traveled to Disneyland in California.
Luverne Public Schools hired James Jarvie of Luverne as its new band director. Jarvie previously taught in Ellsworth.

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