Every year, the city of Raleigh puts together an annual Christmas parade which showcases various bands, dancers, animals, and giant balloons. Each year, Millbrook’s marching band performs in their own block, performing a few familiar Christmas songs.
This year, they performed “The Grinch” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” They worked on this piece for a few weeks before marching down the streets of downtown Raleigh. Senior Jacob Tadd talks about how the marching band starts preparing for the parade after competition season ends, saying, “We mostly just spend a week or two working on what we play, show up, and play it.”
Another senior in marching band, Arabella Colón Henry, further explains that on the morning of the parade, the band meets on campus then drives downtown to wait until it’s their turn to march. “We’ve been very lucky the past two years as we have been towards the front of the parade, but there have been times where we would have to wait three hours just to start actually marching.”
Cat Talk asked Colón Henry to reminisce on the time she spent in marching band through her high school years. She explains how exhausting it was at times, and how she really had to find strength in order to push through, but it was all worth it in the end. After her first time playing in a competition, in front of people who cared about the work they put in, she saw how supportive the community was.
She said about the moment: “All the cheers and applause while we performed felt amazing. And as I stepped off the field, I just felt so incredibly happy and that’s when I realized how passionate I was in the activity and I just knew that there was no way I was quitting, that I would keep joining every year no matter what.”
Tadd agrees with Colón Henry, and tells Cat Talk that he felt the same way after he was done performing in a competition for the first time. He says, “Since my first competition, I’ve known that I wanted to do marching band through high school. It was a late performance, so it was dark out, and we got super into our show, and it was overall a lot of fun.”
Tadd’s favorite part of marching band is the friends he has made while being a part of the program. After Millbrook’s band performs in a competition, they have a little down time before awards are announced. During this time, Tadd says his favorite moments were, “Definitely competitions after we perform. After we perform we just get to sit in the stands and hang out with friends.”
Both seniors will miss being in Millbrook’s marching band. Colón Henry says that marching band has been the best part of her Millbrook experience and it’s the thing she’s going to miss the most. “I don’t think it’s even truly hit me yet. I had a moment the day after the parade where I woke up and just realized that it was all over. I’ll never wear the uniform again, never march in this band again, never compete again. It hurts.”
Tadd says he will also miss being in the program, saying, “Marching band was a lot of fun while it lasted. From the football games to the competitions, and it’s a chapter of my life that I’ll never get back. Even if I’m not going to do it in college, it’s something that I’ll always have fond memories of.”
We congratulate the marching band on their successful season, and wish all the seniors the best of luck in their future, regardless if band stays a part of their lives.
