The leader of a primary school choir that sang at a Disney World resort said the youngsters he led “rose to the occasion”.

Terry Henry gave his flowers to the Northland Primary School Choir after they performed four songs at Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida.

The choirmaster, who spoke from Miami Airport while returning home, said the opportunity reminded them of how much hard work they had put in.

He added: “I wanted them to understand that this was not common. A lot of people dream about one day getting to perform on the Disney stage.

“This experience was something that they can take with them for the rest of their lives and give them the confidence that they’ve done something very honourable.”

Mr Henry, who has led the choir for several years, said that the school’s principal arranged a video audition in January.

He admitted that he was worried because their first audition faced a critique.

He explained: “They gave us some tips on what they were looking for, and that’s when we realised that the calibre of performance was really high.”

Mr Henry added: “We only submitted one song and they wanted us to submit two.

“We had also submitted a gospel song, and I wasn’t sure if that would be an issue.”

Mr Henry said that the choir learnt in May that they had been selected to perform — a response, he added, met with “jubilation”.

While in Orlando, the Northlands Primary School Choir performed mostly gospel songs at Disney Springs, two of which were medleys organised by Mr Henry.

The choir also sang Bermuda, I Salute You to give the attendees a taste of their heritage.

Initially, according to Mr Henry, the choir arranged to have a Gombey perform with them.

He said, however, that the intended dancer fell ill beforehand and could not perform.

Despite this, Mr Henry said that the crowd loved the performance, describing attendees as “very receptive”.

He added: “After it was done, as I was walking through the park, somebody randomly approached me and said ‘excuse me, I absolutely loved the worship songs that you sang’.

“I was really touched by that. He went out of his way to get my attention and tell me that.”

As for the performers, Mr Henry said that he was left filled with pride for their professionalism and talent.

He said: “They rose to the occasion.

“There are a lot of things that can distract children, such as the heat — and it was hot there on stage.

“But they maintained their role on stage and I was very proud of that.”

The Northlands Primary School Choir returned to Bermuda last night.