Area students chosen to perform in the 2022 Rose Parade
Six students from Fayette and Bourbon counties were selected to participate in the Bands of America Honor Band
PASADENA, CA (WTVQ) – Three students from Fayette County and three from Bourbon County have been selected to perform in the 2022 Rose Bowl Parade as part of the Bands of America Honor Band (BOA).
The six were chosen from thousands of students and will travel to California after Christmas to march in the parade on New Year’s Day.
Chosen for the prestigious national honor band include Sydney Peters (Dance) and Lacey Webber (Percussion), both seniors from Lafayette High School in Lexington under the direction of band director Dee Bishop.
Carson Kitts (Bass Clarinet), a senior from Henry Clay High School in Lexington where Bill Kite is the band director.
McKenzie McGee (Bass Clarinet), Pearl Altman (Colorguard) and Olivia Perdue (Colorguard), all seniors at Bourbon County High School in Paris where Michael Stone is the band director.
The BOA Honor Band is a 300-piece national ensemble with winds, percussion, and a flag and dance team. Richard Saucedo, composer, conductor, and retired director of the national champion Carmel H.S. (IN) marching band, will direct the 2022 BOA Honor Band. Music educator, conductors, and adjudicator David Starnes, Director of Orchestras at Kennesaw Mountain H.S., GA, is Program Coordinator.
Students will spend a week in Southern California, where they will have rehearsals, performances at the Tournament of Roses Bandfest and Disneyland, special activities and a featured appearance in the famous parade broadcast worldwide. The 2022 Rose Parade presented by Honda begins at 8 AM on New Year’s Day and is themed “DREAM. BELIEVE. ACHIEVE.” The 5.5-mile parade will be televised worldwide through its broadcast partners. Magnificent floral floats, spirited marching bands and talented equestrian units anchor the traditional, two-hour spectacle along Pasadena’s famed Colorado Boulevard. Learn more about the parade and broadcast at tournamentofroses.com.
“To be selected for this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students, and a testimony to their excellence and achievements,” says director Richard Saucedo. “The Rose Parade® is one of our country’s national pageantry treasures. The 2022 Honor Band members are ambassadors of America’s scholastic music and arts programs, as well as their schools and communities. Congratulations to these students from the Central Kentucky area on this fantastic accomplishment and recognition.”
This will mark the fifth time Music for All’s Bands of America Honor Band has performed in the Tournament of Roses® Parade. The BOA Honor Band also performed in the Tournament of Roses® Parade in 2005, 2009 when it was a part of the President’s Award-winning entry created with NAMM and Sesame Street Workshop, 2013 and in 2017. Music for All sponsors and partners will play an important role in preparing the BOA Honor Band for their performances. Yamaha Corporation of America, MFA’s National Presenting Sponsor, will provide percussion and brass instruments. Fred J. Miller, Inc. (FJM) will outfit the members in custom uniforms designed by award-winning designer Michael Cesario, one of the nation’s leading pageantry visionaries. Music Travel Consultants, MFA’s Official Student Travel Partner, will manage the travel, housing and logistics for the band members and their families.
Bands of America is a program of Music for All (MFA), one of the nation’s largest and most influential organizations in support of active music making. Music for All is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit educational organization.
