Missed The Rose Parade Today?

After winning major awards at the holiday parades in both Lancaster and Palmdale, Eastside High School Band has safely secured its place as one of the best bands in the Antelope Valley. Perhaps it’s time for them to look for bigger venues. And they wouldn’t have to look far.

One of the world’s biggest parades took place today just an hour away from our campus. The Rose Parade, held each New Year’s Day in Pasadena, provides the opportunity for a handful of local high schools to show off their musical ability — both to the 800 thousand people who attended the Rose Parade today and to the 37 million people who watch it on television.

That would be a large platform for our students and an opportunity for them to get more recognition for all their hard work.

“Being a member of the band is fun but also hard work,” says Stephanie Sandoval, a freshman member of Color Guard. “You always have to be on top of your stuff.”

Many band members, including Stephanie, don’t feel that their talent gets fully appreciated.

“I don’t think band gets enough attention,” she says. “All of us work our butts off and we don’t get as much recognition as we deserve.”

“It all seems like it’s easy, but it’s not,” she says, pointing to the number of rehearsals and the amount of practice as evidence of the band’s hard work.

Freshman Nevaeh Henson isn’t a member of our school’s band, but she agrees that they don’t get enough attention.

“I like the band a lot, but I don’t think that we give them enough attention,” she says. “We listen to their music, but they barely have parades.”

According to a recent survey, 33% of EHS students agree with Nevaeh and Stephanie that our band deserves more attention. Trying out for the Rose Parade might be a good way to fix that problem.