The Chelsea High School Concert Band, an ensemble of more than 40 students, will perform at Walt Disney World in the spring of 2027, Chelsea Public Schools announced in a post on its website dated November 2. The band was selected through the Disney Imagination Campus program after an audition, and it will play the AdventHealth Waterside Stage at Disney Springs. It will be the second year in a row that Chelsea High ensembles perform there: the Jazz Band and the Cantare choir did so in March.
How the band got in
Concert Band director Shannon Chick and the district’s coordinator of fine arts, Pete Pappavaselio, submitted the audition to Disney’s Imagination Campus. According to the district, the audition featured recordings of the band’s performance at Six Flags last spring and of its set at the school’s annual Arts Night Out. Students learned they had been selected in an announcement made in class in late October.
State Senator Sal DiDomenico secured the funding for the trip, as he did for last year’s, the district said. The post does not say how much the trip costs or where the money comes from in the state budget. DiDomenico visited the Concert Band during class on Monday, November 2, listened to the students play and spoke with them about representing Chelsea on a national stage. Besides the performance, students will attend workshops run by Imagination Campus staff and will have time in the theme parks.
“My heart is filled with pride knowing that our Chelsea High School musicians will once again perform at Disney World,” Superintendent Almi G. Abeyta said in the announcement. “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing our students shine and experience opportunities they will remember for a lifetime.”
“I am always impressed by the performances and professionalism of these students and staff and I can’t wait to see them show off their skills in Florida,” DiDomenico said.
Last year’s trip
In March, the Jazz Band and Cantare traveled to Florida for five days after sending Disney an audition video in December. The two groups rehearsed after school, on weekends and through February vacation week for a joint set of about 20 minutes at Disney Springs, which included “Dig a Little Deeper” from The Princess and the Frog, the theme from The Incredibles and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story. The district said the set drew a standing ovation and that the groups received a 2026 Imagination Campus trophy and commemorative pins given to performers on the Disney Springs stage. The students also visited all four Disney parks, many for the first time.
Also at Chelsea High
The CHS Drama Club performs Arsenic and Old Lace November 12 to 14, as noted in our School Committee coverage. The boys basketball team plays Revere at TD Garden on January 9 in the James Lawson Foundation event.