By Ashley Cohen
Staff Writer
As florally decorated floats drifted through the streets for the 125th annual Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1, six Mira Costa Marching Band members got the opportunity to watch the event from a rather memorable point-of-view.
Costa seniors Ryan Braudo, Emily Molinedo and Chelsea Williams, junior Ryan Cosner and sophomores Troy Gamble and Everett Kim marched in the parade as part of the Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to march in the Rose Bowl Parade,” Kim said. “I worked hard to achieve this goal, and I’m really proud that I was chosen to perform out of so many incredible musicians from California.”
The six students auditioned to be part of the band on Oct. 13 at Pasadena City College, competing against over 600 Southern California high school students and Pasadena City College Marching Band members for six of 245 spots. A total of 12 high schools and professional marching bands from the United States, Panama and Japan performed, in addition to the other members chosen for the parade.
“It was amazing to be able to perform with people from all over the world,” Cosner said. “I got to meet people from places like Stanford University, Alaska and Carmel High School, which is one of the best high school field bands in the United States.”
The students arrived in Pasadena on the morning of the parade at 4:30 a.m. They marched for a total of two hours, traveling a distance of six and a half miles. The band was televised to over 350 million people worldwide, and pictures were taken of them every two seconds.
“It’s cool to think about how big that audience is,” Cosner said. “It was an amazing experience to perform in the honor band of one of the world’s largest parades.”
The Honor Band practiced every Sunday throughout November and December and every day during the two-week winter break period for five hours each day, clocking 25 miles of marching prior to the parade to prepare for their six-mile trek down Colorado Boulevard.
“It’s obviously a lot of commitment and hard work,” Kim said. “But in the end, when you get to finally march down that street with thousands of people and cameras watching you, it is all worth it.”
Prior to marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Honor band performed once at Disneyland and three times at Bandfest. Director Kyle Luck and assistant director Tad Carpenter from Pasadena City College worked with the band members to perfect their performance.
“I think it was a great opportunity for these talented high school players to perform with other students at an elite level,” Luck said. “The exposure as well as the experience they had is something they truly cannot get anywhere else.”
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