Christian Hoffman, Josh Kimball and Lauren Lollis have had common interests since they were in third grade together.
All have been music students in Benton Strings & Brass. As Karen King's music students, their hard work and dedication let them shine at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
King said the three Benton residents and BCHS graduates were joined by other students from the area for the June 12 performance.
"Tim Barnett, Brittany Britton, Jessica Colbert, Bethany Cottle, Brad Cottle, Curtis Galloway, Nicholas Hoffman, Page King, Aaron Lay, Chris Lowery, Kayla Malone, Cassidy Neal, Amelia Richey and Abby Wilburn all from Benton, along with Olivia Vanwey and Jake Vanwey from Sesser and Emma Webster of Ewing, also made the trip," she said.
"This was the first time that the brass ensemble had performed at Walt Disney World Resort," King said. "My string group has performed twice in that venue. They had all previously marched I the band."
King's husband Bill is also no stranger to everything Disney.
"My band students performed in the first Disney Performing Arts Program," he said. "Twenty-five years ago Benton High School students marched down Main Street at Walt Disney World Resort. We performed again about seven years ago.
"The idea for the program started 25 years ago," Bill King said. "The video crew videotaped the BCHS marching band and submitted it as an audition tape."
Both Kings said it was a great experience for their students. "It was amazing," Bill said. "When the bands would go marching down Main Street, folks would be yelling out, 'Hello, Benton.'"
Karen said students performed their own selections as audition material. "We had submitted audition tapes in the past but were not successful. Not every band that auditions gets to perform.
"I had a special bunch of kids this year," Karen King said. "The brass ensemble had been together since they were in the fifth grade. Bill and I wanted to do something special for them in return."
Bill King said former band directors serve as videotape judges. "The professionals at Disney worked with our students and made suggestions about their performance," he said. "They set them in a position where they get a great deal of exposure from foot traffic."
Karen King said many people stopped to listen to her brass and strings music students.
"We had a 25-minute performance slot and did a medley of Disney tunes," she said. "BCHS students received a lot of notoriety, even if they don't realize it yet. Dance groups, choirs, ensembles and marching bands from around the world apply to perform each year as part of Disney Performing Arts at both the Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Resorts. These kids performed for an international audience of theme park guests."
Bill King said people stopped students after their performance. "They kids were told what a great job they did and how much the audience enjoyed the music," he said. "They performed polka, rock and roll and jazz music because that's what the folks at Disney like."
Bill said the cost of the trip was surprisingly inexpensive. "We figure it came to about $450 per kid for the eight-day trip," he said. "A lot of parents scheduled vacation time around the performance and took their kids with them. We would up renting two mini buses for the trip and took the rest of them with us.
"In the good old days, we did fund-raising events to send the marching band to perform at Walt Disney World," Bill King said. "In the past eight to 10 years, we have been calculating the cost and breaking it into payments for the parents. As part of the Disney Performing Arts Program, students got a four-day park pass given to the kids at half price as their reward for performing."
Karen King said the experience is more than an eight-day reward. "This keeps their interest in music alive," she said.
Bill King said performing is only part of the equation.
"I always said if we can instill a love of music into the lives of kids this is something they can do all of their lives," he said. "One of the physicians at Rea Clinic, Michelle Jenkins, played clarinet in the BCHS band. She went to school, got her medical degree, started her career and still finds time for music. She came back to the area and now plays with the Southern Illinois Concert Band. Performing teaches a student to be motivated. It is like any other sports program; if you have success you plant the seeds."
Karen King said her brass and strings musicians are destined for other performances.
"One of the graduating seniors wants to be a band director," she said. "Several others will participate in college bands and another will continue with music lessons at my studio."
Karen said she did a bit of performing herself while at Walt Disney World. "During a couple of the numbers, I played in the brass section because some of the students were performing in both the strings and brass ensembles," she said.
Another familiar name at BCHS, Kevin Webster, also got into the act.
"He is the new band director at BCHS," Bill King said. "He conducted the numbers that Karen was a part of."
Karen King said she has been teaching music for 32 years.
