The Pasadena Tournament of Roses announced a Rose Parade first this week: a marching band of all band directors together with a float of floral wonder. The combo is unprecedented and will recognize and salute the exceptional instruction, character development and inspiration provided by music educators everywhere.
The Band Directors Marching Band is the first known Rose Parade marching band in which all 270 members are band directors.
Band members range from recent music education graduates through retired veteran directors, from across the United States and Mexico. Collectively, the band members have mentored hundreds of thousands of students and have taught a total of 4,539 years. Among the group are seventy-six teachers of the year along with winners of other distinguished state and national awards. The band will be performing an original arrangement by Ohio music composer Lisa Galvin of Meredith Wilson’s “Seventy-Six Trombones”.
The band will make their way down the historic parade route with The Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation float themed “Saluting America’s Band Directors: We Teach Music. We Teach Life.” The float will continue Rose Parade tradition with symbolic and spectacular storytelling in front of hundreds of thousands on Colorado Blvd. and millions of our worldwide audience on New Year’s Day.
The Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, based in Pickerington, Ohio, is the sponsoring organization behind the project. The foundation was created to recognize and carry on the work of the late Mike Sewell, who dedicated his life to the school and community music programs in Pickerington and the Central Ohio area for more than 38 years.
Sewell was a music teacher from Ohio and brought his band to the Rose Parade four times.
