CLOVIS ROUNDUP STAFF
Eleven Clovis Unified School District students will be marching in the 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade as part of the Bands of America Honor Band. They were selected by Music for All from among hundreds of applicants from across the nation. Clovis North High Band Director David Lesser is also part of the elite group, chosen from more than 200 applicants to be one of 12 associate directors for the group.
Three students from Clovis North High School and eight from Clovis West High School will be a part of the honor band’s 300-piece national ensemble with winds, percussion, and a flag and dance team traveling along the parade route Jan. 2 in Southern California.
The 5.5 mile parade kicks off at 8 a.m. and will be broadcast on ABC, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, KTLA, NBC, RFD-TV and Univision.
Participating students will have spent a week in Southern California for rehearsals, performances at the Tournament of Roses Bandfest and Disneyland, special activities and the 128th Rose Parade. This year’s parade theme is “Echoes of Success.”
CUSD participating students are, from Clovis North, Cameron Baber, alto saxophone; Timothy Childs, baritone saxophone; and John Sieve, percussion tenor; and from Clovis West, Faith Blackburn, tenor saxophone; Emma Boone, mellophone; Matthew Garza, mellophone; Micah Burgess, trombone; Key Poulan IV, trombone; Koby Hayashi, baritone; Abbey Clay, color guard; and Gwyneth Quitorio, dancer.
“To be selected for this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students and a testimony to their excellence and achievements,” said Eric Martin, Music for All president and CEO. “The Rose Parade is one of our country’s national pageantry treasures, and the 2017 Honor Band members will be ambassadors of America’s bands, and of their states and communities.”
This is the fourth time Music for All’s honor band has performed in the Rose Parade. Music for All is a nonprofit educational organization and is one of the nation’s largest organizations in support of active music making.