Bloomfield choral groups preparing for performance at Walt Disney World in Florida

A group of Bloomfield School District choral students will be spending their upcoming spring break performing at Walt Disney World in the Orlando, Fla., area.

The 74 students in grades 4-12 will leave at 6 p.m. on March 18 for the 19-hour bus trip to the amusement park venue.

The group will return March 24.

The big day for the Bloomfield singers, under the direction of third-year choral music director Laura Young, will be March 22 when three different age group choral groups -- Joyful Noise, Cardinal Song and Center stage -- will perform 15 to 20 minute shows on the Downtown Disney stage as part of the "Magic Music Days" celebration.

Joyful Noise (elementary) will take the stage at 11:45 a.m., followed at 12:45 p.m. by Cardinal Song (junior high) and a 1:45 p.m. show by Center Stage (high school).

"It's a program that Walt Disney World puts on called Magic Music Days. ... It's something the choral groups have done before. We did it about five years ago. It's something we applied for and sent in an audition tape and then we were invited to come down and perform," Young explained.

The choral groups have been involved in a variety of fundraisers since the start of the school year to raise money to make this trip possible.

They've sold cookie dough, trash bags, candy bars, Longenberger baskets, poinsettia flowers and even raffled off two hogs that were donated to raise about $75,000, Young explained.

The trip costs about $750 per student for the six days all-inclusive package.

"We take care of the food and everything while they (the students) are down there. Whatever the kids fundraise is credited. So if they don't fundraise, they have to make up the difference," she said. "We always have enough opportunities for them. If they want to fundraise the whole thing and don't have the money otherwise they can still go."

Young said the trip is a wonderful educational and fun opportunity for the students.

Young, who is a 2002 Bloomfield High School graduate who earned her teaching degree from Indiana University, went on similar trips while she was a student in high school.

Young said in past performances at Disney the Bloomfield groups have always done well and received congratulatory notes from the event organizers.

"This in itself isn't a competition. This is an entertainment thing. We have traveled and performed for the last decade or so and always came home with some big trophies," Young said.

An added treat for the Bloomfield travel party, which will also include nearly 100 other chaperones and family members, will be for former BHS Choral Director Shelia "Mrs. J" Jerrells to have a chance to see her former groups perform.

Jerrells, who served as a mentor for Young during her school years, and her husband, Richard, are working at the Disney Park in their retirement.

"They are working part-time there. That is what she always dreamed she wanted to do. She retired and moved to Disney World," Young said.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for the kids to get out. They've been working so hard from 7 in the morning until 8 o'clock in the evening getting ready for the show. We're excited and ready to go," Young said in explaining that each choir has its own and different show.

The younger Joyful Noise group will perform a melody from the 2000 "Seussical the Musical" that features a number of well-known Dr. Seuss storybook characters.

Cardinal Song is performing the famous American standard song "Come Fly With Me," and song from the musical "Dream Girls."

Center Stage will feature Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat" from Guys and Dolls; and other 1980s tunes.

"We're excited about it. The Downtown Disney stage is a brand new renovated stage that we're are excited we got placed on. Being Downtown Disney, we are hoping we will draw a good crowd," Young added.

Disney World is located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, southwest of Orlando. Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Downtown Disney is divided into three areas: The Marketplace, Pleasure Island and the West Side.