[dropcap]W[/dropcap]aking up on New Year’s morning and watching the Tournament of Roses parade on television with family is tradition for Lehman High senior Caroline Salas.
When the first float takes off from the corner of Green Street and Orange Grove in Pasadena, Calif. Jan. 2, Salas, along with Lehman High junior Edgar Blanton and senior Maija Solis, will be right there to watch it happen.
Earlier this year, Salas, Blanton and Solis were selected to join the 300-piece Bands of America (BOA) Honor Band, which will march the 5 and ½ mile route in the Rose Parade. The trio departed for Pasadena on Dec. 28.
“It’s a huge honor,” Salas said. “It’s also not just us going. It’s everyone who’s helped us on the way. They contributed to us being here at this point.”
The journey toward Pasadena began when all three discovered the process to audition for the honor band. While each found out about the process differently, all three worked and submitted performance audition videos.
Salas said that meant spending an evening in a gym while a friend recorded her doing basic color guard movements. Blanton, who plays saxophone, and Solis, who plays clarinet, each videotaped themselves performing prescribed audition music.
Eventually, all three discovered they made the cut.
“I just opened the email and I was like, ‘oh, cool,’” Blanton said. “I told my mom. She was very happy. That was an honor to see my mom like that. I care about her. My family means a lot to me.”
The trio then began to fundraise to pay for the $2,100 overall cost. Solis said she and her family found a website that offered several fundraising options, while they also searched options on their own.
Salas had specialty pins with a design crafted by a family friend. The design featured a yellow rose with the Lobo logo on them, which she gave away for a $5 donation.
In addition, the trio also began working on the necessary music and routines for the march. Salas said BOA directors showed tutorials on what routines to perform. Blanton said wind players worked on three pieces of music that ranged in difficulty.
Salas said the most pressing challenge would be clicking with her fellow color guard members.
“You show up and try to click with the color guard and be able to spin together and look like you’ve been spinning for years,” Salas said.
But the ability of being able to represent not only the Lobo band, but also Texas, was a proud moment for all three.
Lehman High principal Denisha Presley said the trio showed other students that such a feat is possible.
Lobo head band director Joey Lucita said he was excited for the experience the trio will have.
“They’re fixing to step out on a national stage and step out of their comfort zone,” Lucita said. “I’m excited for the opportunities that are going to be presented to them.”
