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This new decade was introduced with multiple MUSD band and pageantry members in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1.

Being a part of an honor band such as this is a lot of hard work that happens around the holidays, such as Christmas and New Year’s Day. Every day after Christmas until the day of the long-awaited Rose Parade, we are practicing and performing alongside many students from other schools.

Members of the PCC Honor Band practice all through the weekends of November and December. From December 26 to January 1, the students were practicing at Dodger Stadium and the Santa Anita Race Track to do anywhere from three to five miles a day, as preparation for the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.

Performances of the band’s four songs began with their parade down Main Street in Disneyland on December 27. As practices continue, more performances, such as our three appearances at the 2020
Band Fest in Pasadena, came up in our schedules.

This year’s theme for the Tournament of Roses Parade centered around the idea of hope. “Hope” inspired our band to play four arrangements called Seize the Day from the film Newsies, It is a Small World, Everything is Coming up Roses, and Eagle Squadron.

For the multiple high school and college students taking part in the Pasadena City College Honor Band, completing the 5.5-mile parade is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many individuals use this
experience to meet new friends from different schools.

As part of the 2020 Pasadena City College Pageantry team, my personal experience felt like a sense of accomplishment as a performer. Turning onto Colorado Boulevard, looking up to the smiling, crowded audience, as a performer I wanted to tear up from the joy that overcame me and the fact that I proved myself to be a true performer.

Along with the many students that participated in this honor band, I will never forget the memories we made and the people we met during this short season.

Article can be found in February 2020 Issue of the Montebello Reporter.