Said Vitale: “It takes a lot of time to coordinate the music and movement of close to 90 students. They work extremely hard and perform at a professionally high level.”

According to Vitale, each category is individually graded by different judges, and at the end, each grade is combined to create a score out of 100. The marching band received its highest score of the season at a competition in Hillsborough, scoring a combined 93.325. Said senior marching band member Haley Tanella: “We were all pretty excited to do so well.”

The band took a trip to Disney World from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13 to participate in Disney’s Magic Music Days, a program that allows “middle and high school students and community groups from across the country and around the world” to perform at the park, according to disneyyouth.com.

On Nov. 12, the band performed in a pre-parade performance called Disney Performing Arts Onstage. According to Vitale, the band was selected out of hundreds of applications received by Disney from bands around the world. The WHS Marching Band was the only musical performance in the parade, and was followed by Disney’s Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade.

Said senior marching band member Sarah Friedman: “It was awesome to have professional staff to get us ready. All these tourists were videotaping us and little kids were jumping and waving. It was the most amazing feeling in the world.”