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Last updated on Friday, May 20, 2016
(BLOOMFIELD) - Three marching band students at Eastern Greene high school will join 297 of their peers as they march in the 128th annual Rose Parade.
Patti Danner, of the Greene County Daily World reports, the parade has been held since 1890 in Pasadena. The 5.5-mile route, themed "Echoes of Success" will take them in front of nearly one million spectators, while hundreds of millions more view the event on television in more than 200 international territories.
The three will be part of one of the most exclusive bands in the nation, the "Bands of America Honor Band", made up of the finest students from high school marching bands in all 50 states.
Sophomore Blake Meese (baritone saxophone), junior Derek Crane (clarinet) and freshman Lief Hutchison (trombone) are members of the elite group and will travel this December 28 along with family members as chaperones, to Orange County for a one week stay culminating in the Rose Parade on January 2, and their return to Indiana on Jan. 4.
Inclusion in the band is not an easy achievement, consisting of a lengthy application process requiring each student to make and send an audition tape, as well as submit an application.
Crane described the application process as "Nerve-wracking, to say the least."
Meese has played his instrument for about five years, and cites jazz as his favorite style.
Crane has played clarinet for six years, while Hutchison, who will attend Indiana University School of Music upon graduation, has played his trombone for four years.ity.
Every student in the country is eligible to apply each year, appearing at events and performances nationwide. The invitation to march in the Rose Parade puts them in the company of such noted marching bands as the United States Air Force Marching Band and the United States Marine Corps Marching Band.
Their trip will also include a performance at Bandfest, an exhibition for band boosters and fans held at Pasadena City College. They will be treated to a Los Angeles city tour, a trip to the Santa Monica Pier, a reception and party, and they will march in a Disneyland Parade.
The group will be directed by Bob Buckner, renowned former Director of Athletic Bands (ret.) at Western Carolina University.
Each will receive a certificate, patch and lapel pin to commemorate the event, as well as a recording package and group photo, and a chance to apply for the Revelli Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship awarded to high achievers in marching bands,
The 300-member marching band will practice together several times before the big day, getting to know the music as well as their new bandmates from around the nation.
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