Fifty-six Destin Middle School band students had the time of their lives this weekend as, not only did they perform at the Music USA festival at Universal Studios, but they took first place in two divisions.
“There were two different divisions,” said Band Director Courtney Murie. “Concert band, which was our label, and overall instrumental group.”
Murie told The Log that this was the first year the band had entered this competition, and that they have been hard at work preparing for the show since the New Year.
“We signed up for it last fall, but we didn’t start working on the music until January,” she said. “We played a piece called 'Nathan Hale Trilogy,' and another piece called 'Amen.'”
The Destin students took the show by storm, pulling ahead of groups from all over the nation.
“We won first place in the concert band division, and first place overall, gaining the title, ‘Instrumental grand champions,’” said Murie.
“I am very proud of the kids, but I think my favorite part of it all was seeing how proud the kids were of themselves,” said Murie. “They were beaming with pride for the work they did, they wanted to carry their trophies through the park. It doesn’t get any better than that.”