On Tuesday March 22, the Trojan Guard marched at Magic Kingdom in Disney world during spring break. Trojan Guard has performed at multiple football games, ISSMA competitions and multiple parades throughout Northwest Indiana. The band in total has almost 100 students as well as parents and other participants that have volunteered to be involved in this organization. The band director, Adam Bess and Vince Arizzi, and the color guard instructor, Laura Gorski, put so much effort and hard work into making this group the best it can be. 

This is one of the oldest performance ensembles here at Chesterton High School and this trip is one of the band’s biggest trips of the entire year and is one of the most exciting times for band students. 

“The trip was a great bonding experience for me and the other members of Trojan Guard. The trip helped me gain better friendships with other members of the marching band!” exclaims Olivia Sundquist who is a freshman trumpet player. 

For the last couple of years the Disney Trip has been canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic, this was a huge breakthrough for the band to finally be able to march down the magical streets of Disney. 

“The highlight of the trip was just getting to perform, period.” recalls Adam Bess. “This was a big deal because of the cancellations of last year’s trips, they started opening up applications again. It was so much fun being a part of the Disney magic.” 

Early on Sunday morning, Chesterton High School’s band started their long trip to Orlando Florida. One of the biggest challenges for this season was the long distance traveling. The band rode on a tour bus but the trip there was very memorable.

“We watched a lot of movies and we all really bonded during the road trip,” recalls Bess.

 The group arrived in Orlando on a tour bus that all of the students shared along with the other staff. Even though the journey was long, the band went on some pretty fun adventures. Throughout the trip, students went to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios as well as Universal Studios.

The marching band started their march in Magic Kingdom, starting at Cinderella’s castle and then marching through Main Street. Trojan Guard started out their march confidently down Main Street with perfect form. Their performance of Grand Old Flag was very different from the other songs performed. The majority of the other high school band organizations played It’s a Small World, so it was a smart choice to pick something unique and different from everybody else performing. The performance was excellent and very eye-opening. The Trojan Guard received a trophy for all of their hard work. 

Sadly there won’t be any Disney trips for the next couple of years but the band is planning on taking a trip to Bands of America in Louisville Kentucky. The Trojan Guard performed incredibly well at Disney. Their performance was very professional and unique and also showcased each part of the band’s talents in a great way. You could hear each part of the band play and there wasn’t anyone that stood out or was too quiet. The Trojan Guard worked so hard for every opportunity that they were given and it is always a pleasure to watch them perform or hear their music.