After thieves stole nearly a quarter of Ashland High’s equipment during a Disney trip, quick action and community support ensured that every student still performed.
About a quarter of the band’s equipment was stolen overnight during the group’s trip to Florida, just hours before the students were to perform in a Disney parade. The theft left students and staff terrified, but thanks to quick thinking, community support, and help from music stores hundreds of miles away, every student performed anyway.
“We found out Sunday morning, and the band had to march on Monday,” said Marty Kral, Ashland High School’s head band director and music department chair. “They had to think really fast.”
The students arrived in Florida Saturday night as part of the school’s four-year tradition of taking the band, orchestra and choir to Disney, a climactic experience that many students save and fundraise for throughout high school.
According to officials, the group brought four tour buses and a trailer carrying instruments and equipment. When the workers went to unload the trailer on Sunday morning, the locks were found missing.
“They took whatever they could quickly, flutes, clarinets, saxophones and some trumpets,” said Michael Metcalf, owner of Mike’s Music Corner in Ashland. “Probably 20 to 30 devices easily.”
The theft affected approximately 20% of the band’s instruments, leaving students without the instruments they had trained with for years.
“For a lot of kids, those devices are part of their existence,” Metcalf said. “He’s had these since fifth grade. It’s like losing a piece of yourself.”
With only a few hours left, the band reached out to Leader Music & Arts, a national music retailer that partners with Mike’s Music Corner. Two music and arts venues in the Orlando area opened Sunday and worked quickly to rent replacement equipment.
“We needed two stores to get everything we needed,” said Cameron Dietrich, assistant band director. “But by Sunday night, we had the devices back in the kids’ hands.”
There was also a last-minute hurdle: the band was still short one instrument. The issue was resolved after a Facebook message to another Ohio school band performing at Disney that same weekend.
Around midnight, the staff met a stranger, a parent from the Anna High School band in Ohio, to borrow the final saxophone.
“It was a really powerful moment of band families coming together,” Dietrich said.
Ultimately, every Ashland student performed, some on instruments they had never played before.
“About 20% of the kids in that parade were using equipment they had never touched,” Kral said. “And they still got it done.”
The band marched down Main Street at Walt Disney World on Monday playing the song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from “Toy Story,” getting crowds cheering and parents smiling along the way.
“He didn’t miss a beat,” Metcalf said.
The students are now concluding their trip and are expected to return to Ashland on Thursday. Donations and offers of help from the community continue.
Local police in Orange County, Florida are investigating the theft and reviewing hotel surveillance video, but have not announced any arrests.
Kral says that despite the failure, the experience has shown students something just as meaningful as the performance.
“We tell our kids to celebrate success,” he said. “And the success here is that no matter what, every kid performed. Nobody let us down.”
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