Lowell HS band, orchestra, and choir bring ‘Disney Magic’ to the LPAC
7 Oct. 2025
By Justin Scott - School News Reporter
Disney adults have been the subject of jokes online the past few years. Not the adults that enjoy Disney on a normal basis, but the ones with obsessions that go yearly, or even for anniversaries, are often perceived as a little strange. If there exists a Disney adult affiliated with the Lowell music program, well good news, it’s your year! The music program not only did a Disney concert last week, but also will be going to perform at Disney next spring, with Wednesday’s concert helping raise funds for it.
Music filled the Lowell Performing Arts Center on Wednesday night, Oct. 1, as the high school’s bands, choirs, and orchestras came together for the Disney Collage Concert. Under the direction of high school program directors Tim Haan, Nathan Masterson, and Wendy Tenney, students from multiple ensembles joined forces for a night celebrating music from the big screen.
The concert opened with the combined bands performing “Music from Frozen,” arranged by Jomine Vinson, followed by “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The first solo of the evening, from “Newsies,” was performed by Caleb Wilterink, who did a vocal solo of the song “Santa Fe.”
Next, the concert orchestra took the stage next with a performance of “Gargoyles,” followed by a vocal solo from freshman Olivia Carr of the piece “Almost There,” from “The Princess and the Frog.” It’s not easy to do a solo, let alone one in front of a packed Lowell Performing Arts Center, as a freshman in high school. It was a packed crowd with some families coming just for the first part, to watch their kid, then leave, while most stayed for the entirety of the performance. People did shuffle in and out, but the constant was many were standing to watch the performances, highlighting just how successful these collage concerts have been.
The symphony orchestra followed with a variety of pieces like “Under the Sea” and “Beauty and the Beast,” which have been highlighted in Lowell theater performances in recent years. The symphony orchestra is a significantly big group. One highlighted group on the evening was percussion, which was performed by Conner Zylstra, Gavin Simmet, Henry Schrauben, Kenny Recor, Landon Jensen, and Marguerite Paiz.
Bella Voce performed Disney’s “Silly Sing-Along,” highlighting their playful energy, while the Soprano/Alto Choir performed “Reflection” from “Mulan.” Bella Voce is an all girls choir with several veteran choir students, including seniors Kaelyn Stanton and Gracen Simmons.
Several standout soloists and small groups were featured. Tate Outman delivered a strong performance of “Go the Distance.” The vocal quartet of Anabel Austhof, Dahlyla DeStefano, Molly Inman, and Neriah Peters sang “See the Light,” from “Tangled.” Peters was on the guitar for this particular performance, and upon successfully completing the song, was visibly ecstatic. The clarinet and vocal duet of sisters Anna Bolt and Ember Bolt performed “Frozen II’s” “All Found,” while Mattea Alexander performed “Colors of the Wind” from the movie “Pocahontas.”
The tenor/bass choir performed “Mulan’s,” “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” with standout voices like Wilterink, Outman, as well as some newer voices like sophomore AJ Anaya and freshman Dawson Christensen.
After intermission, the combined orchestra took the stage with classical selections inspired by storytelling and motion, including Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz from Sleeping Beauty,” Richard Meyer’s “Barber of Seville,” and Brian Balmages’ “Welcome to the Jungle,” with concert choir closing out the night and Masterson thanking everyone for coming out.
Future events for the high school music programs include chamber orchestra on October 9, the fall band concert on October 14, and the fall choir concert on November 6.
