Snohomish High School choir teacher Holly Batstone leads the choir class through a song during class Friday, Feb. 9. The choir and band will be performing at Disneyland in April.
Doug Ramsay
SNOHOMISH — Snohomish High School’s band and choir will hone their skills when they visit Disneyland in April.
They will perform at the park one day, get exposure producing music in a studio the next day, and then enjoy the park on the third day.
“It’s going to be something I’m going to remember for my whole life,” Snohomish senior Emmalee Krieger said while at a recent fundraiser for the trip that took place at the Snohomish Pie Company. She has spent two years singing in the choir.
Both the choir and the band each earned the opportunity to perform at Disneyland, thanks to their respective auditions.
Choir teacher Holly Batstone said the current senior class hasn’t had a chance to travel and perform. A trip to New York in 2020 was canceled.
“Choir is a place where students have a place to belong,” Batstone said.
She had first thought to take the students on a trip to Silverwood in Idaho, but plans changed when she heard about the band trying to go to Disneyland.
“The band can cheer the choir on, and the choir can cheer the band on,” Batstone said.
In 2023, Snohomish High’s band made their first trip since the lockdown when they performed at Music in the Parks at Silverwood in Idaho.
“A lot of kids missed out on opportunities to travel due to COVID,” band director Jordan Johnson said. The band brought home two trophies in 2023 – first place AAA band and first place overall band.
The choir will be bringing 25 students while the band will bring 66 students.
Both the choir and the band are busy preparing for other events, too.
The choir is planning a camp that will take place the last week in June for students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
The band performed at the Pacific Northwest Band Festival at the University of Washington last week and will perform at the Western Washington University Band Festival in March.
They are busy raising money for the trip.
The choir has spent time organizing dine-outs, where a restaurant donates a portion of the days sales to the choir program. During Christmas, the choir raised money through singing Christmas carols to spread holiday cheer. On Valentine’s Day, choir members performed “singing grams” for classmates.
Batstone said a dinner and silent auction for choir are being planned but a date hasn’t been scheduled yet.
The band’s booster club has been busy working events at Angel of the Winds Arena where they earn $75 per person plus tips. They’ve earned $22,000, Johnson said.
“It’s pretty lucrative for the kids,” Johnson said.
If at a sports game, look for the concession booth where people are wearing a red Snohomish High School band T-Shirt to support the band.
To donate to the choir, visit the Snohomish High School Choir webpage at www.shschoir.club, which will have a link to PayPal.
