Local bands chosen for 2011 Rose Parade

Two N.C. university marching bands have been invited to the 2011 Rose Parade, one of the most prestigious parades a college marching band can participate in.

The parade, which takes place before the Rose Bowl game each year in Pasadena, Calif., is watched by about 40 million people on TV and another million in person.

N.C. Central University’s “Marching Sound Machine” and Western Carolina University’s “Pride of the Mountains” were two of the sixteen bands nationwide chosen to march in the parade, which will take place Jan. 1, 2011.

“I was very, very excited when I heard we got a bid,” said Bob Buckner, director of athletic bands at WCU. “This puts us in the national spotlight.”

But the costs of the trip have both band directors worried.

“It’s going to take a lot of money and effort from the university and the community,” said Jorim Reid, the director of bands at NCCU.

 “We’re doing everything we can to fundraise.”

Reid said the cost of the trip should total about $1.7 million for his school, which includes transportation and accommodations for more than 300 people and their equipment.

Bands are selected at least 14 months in advance to allow schools time to raise the money needed for the trip to Pasadena.

The NCCU band is depending mostly on donations from alumni and partners of the university because budget cuts have hit music and art departments especially hard, Reid said. The burden will not fall on the students, he said.

“Those band students have worked very hard and they do not get the same treatment as student athletes when they work just as hard or harder,” Reid said. “These students will not pay anything out of their pockets.”

WCU is also struggling to find the money for trip. Buckner expects to bring about 360 band members at about $1,600 each. They will be expected to cover some of the costs of the trip.

“There has been talk of doing events like golf tournaments and other fundraisers,” said Matt Henley, spokesperson for Partners for Pride, the band’s booster club.

“Some of it will fall on the students themselves. That will definitely be a part of it.”

Both Buckner and Reid said they would cut down on their program’s normal operating costs to save money for the trip.

If the bands raise enough money to go, it’s likely their schools will reap the benefits.

“The band has given the university more exposure than anything,” Reid said. “And it takes events like this to allow for the community and the world to know that the university and this program exist.”



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.