This year, the LHS marching band has the opportunity of a lifetime to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, but the real question is how they are preparing.
The LHS marching band consists of 215 members and is directed by Drew Balta and Dan Carlson. This year they will march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The parade is watched by millions of people and is streamed by NBC. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is about 2.5 miles and once the band finishes marching they will perform “Empire State of Mind” mashed up with New York and play “Birdland” as they exit the star. For the band to be able to attend this, they have had to go through budget meetings, fundraising and more. The average cost for each student to attend Macy’s is about $1,710.
On Saturday, Nov. 9th, the band had a two-hour practice containing only working on the Macy’s routine. They started their practice by warming up and preparing for their indoor show on Nov. 16th. After this, they went outside to practice their performance on the star. During this time band members focused on ensuring everyone was uniform with movements and sound. The star is at the end of the parade route when they are most tired. The band created their parade formation on the street and marched 2.5 miles with the whole band playing “America the Beautiful” and the drumline additionally performing a series of cadences. The color guard during the parade will spin their routine to “America the Beautiful” and during the star performance, they will have a mix of dancers, rifles and flags. The color guard during practices has been cleaning their routine and working with the band on visual elements. So far the band has put in multiple hours of work focusing on musical dynamics, choreography, technique and more.
“It takes a lot of endurance to be in the physical shape to play that much and carry the equipment that distance, all while trying to look great the entire time,” said Carlson.
The band has been working around the clock to ensure the best performance possible for national television.
“There is a heightened sense of urgency to get things right with the amount of time we have left to get things the way we want them,” said Carlson.

Gallery • 3 Photos

LHS marching band practices marching onto a makeshift star (Photo used with permission by Seirra Pattin)