String students toured the Island yesterday as part of preparations to play at Disney World next month.

The Bermuda School of Music’s Suzuki Strings group gave four concerts at Somersfield Academy, Victor Scott Primary, St George’s Preparatory School, and on the steps of City Hall in Hamilton.

The 39 young musicians will take part in a series of workshops with Disney music professionals in Orlando, Florida, from February 7 to 12, and will perform on Disney’s Waterside Stage. Chas Arnold, the director of strings, said this was their fourth tour in the United States. He has previously chaperoned trips to Michigan, Boston and Charlotte.

“We always do this as a preparation for those overseas events,” he said of their public dress rehearsal in patriotic pink polo shirts on the steps of City Hall.

There were flourishes throughout the performance — plucked strings, rapped bows and cello spins in Donkey Doodle.

The cellists twirled their instruments effortlessly, smiling at the audience.

Mr Arnold has been with the Bermuda School of Music since it was formed in 2001 and is responsible for their rendition of Beethoven’s famous piano piece, Fur Elise.

The arrangement puts the music into two violin parts to represent the two hands on the piano. But the 13 violinists took cues from each other in a kind of musical relay.

“That would be the blending or the mesh of the harmonies on it,” Mr Arnold said. “There’s a lot of string crossing. It’s a complex piece compared to some of the more basic ones.”

Chrysda Smith, 14, prefers the advanced pieces.

The Somersfield Academy student told The Royal Gazette: “Fur Elise, Le Coucou and tango — the way the music is I’m passionate about it, so when I play I’m able to move with it and also show it in my emotions.”

Chrysda has been playing the violin since she was 4 and this is her second tour with the school.

She said she was particularly pleased with her performance at Victor Scott Primary School.

“I played with more bravado,” she said. “I used much more of my bow and I was more passionate in terms of my movement.

“The programme is not just learning songs. We work on our technical [skills], where we incorporate different skills like the plucking.”