1. How did you end up marching in the Rose Parade, and what kind of preparations did you have to do?
“I ended up marching in the Rose Parade because my dad saw a call that said ‘Hey, we need this many people for this instrument.’ There were spots for mellophones, and I was excited. I had to get a recommendation from [Papio South band director] Mr. Rom, I had to play a little bit [for the online assignments], and I had to do a lot of preparation, we were only going to get together for like a week. We had to play all the music, and get all the music basically memorized. It was quite the adventure to get there!”
2. What’s a moment from the experience that you think you’ll remember for a long time?
“We played the song ‘For Good’ from ‘Wicked,’ – it’s a great song, I’m sure you’ve heard it – but we played it for the last time for the band director and all the staff and it was just really emotional. Everyone gave speeches on how this was a really great time, and it was really cool.”
3. When did it fully hit you that you were about to march in the world-famous Rose Parade on national television
“Honestly, when we got up really early, and we were getting into uniform. I was like, ‘Oh shoot, wait, Rose Parade today,’ so it didn’t really hit me until right then, but once it started happening, it was like, ‘OK, I’ve done a parade before; it was just a parade.’”
4. What were your interactions with students from other parts of the United States, and how well did you get to know them before you had to perform together?
“We all roomed together in sections, so I had three other roommates. They were all from different places: There was someone from North Carolina, and someone from Delaware, it was really cool. We had a lot of time to hang out and talk about rehearsal, and just talk a lot. So I feel like I got to know them decently well. I have their numbers, so I still text them a bit.”
5. How do you think your bandmates and directors would describe you as a musician and a person?
“Enthusiastic. I like doing a lot, and that’s kind of why I did this. Band is fun, I just enjoy it all, and this was no exception. I enjoyed this so much. It was a lot of work, obviously, it’s the freaking Rose Parade, but it was really, really fun.”
