Westlake High School Band set to march in Rose Parade

  December 26, 2017, 7:19 am

By Charlynn Anderson

While millions of Americans will most likely begin 2018 by relaxing and watching TV on New Year's Day, 166 members of the Westlake High School Marching Thunder Band will be performing in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, one of the most famous parades in the country.

"The Tournament of Roses Parade is the granddaddy of all parades. We're excited to participate and represent our school, cities and the State of Utah," Brek Mangelson, Westlake High School Band Director, said in a telephone interview on December 14.

In addition to representing the school's home city, Saratoga Springs, Westlake High School students also come from Eagle Mountain, Cedar Fort, and Fairfield. According to WHS Assistant Principal, Kris Packer, the honor of marching in the Rose Parade is an amazing accomplishment for such a new school. Westlake High School opened its doors in 2009, so in only nine years the WHS band program has produced one of Utah's elite bands.

"Few things distinguish a band as much as marching in the Rose Parade. We're excited for them. It's a positive thing for all the communities," Packer said in a telephone interview on December 13.

The students' preparations for the parade have included both musical performance and physical endurance. They will march the demanding five-and-a-half mile parade route while playing "A Jubilant Revelation," an original fanfare by Copper Hills, Utah band director, John Matthews, and the upbeat Doobie Brothers classic, "Takin' it to the Streets." Besides their regular schoolwork, the band members have been practicing to memorize music and get in shape.

"We've been working really hard," said Color Guard Captain, Calli Walker. "We run a mile every practice as conditioning for the parade," Walker said on December 17.

"These kids have to go the distance," Mangelson said. In addition to band practices, the students are encouraged to run two miles around the school's track three or four times a week. Parent band boosters painted a 110-degree turn on the football field for the 133 musicians and 33 color guard members to practice negotiating one of the most technically difficult turns on the parade route. According to the band website, the band has set a performance goal that, "No audience member should see the entire band pass by without hearing them play at some point."

The 2018 Rose Parade Theme, "Making a Difference," inspired the WHS band's field show which includes a heartfelt rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and "American Faces" by David Holsinger. The field show portrays the American ideal of pulling together in times of adversity. Mangelson said that with all the disasters in this country and around the world, the WHS field show will make an instant audience connection and hit "really close to home, especially with the fires in California." The Westlake band will present their field show at Band Fest on Saturday, December 30, at Pasadena City College. They will also perform in Disneyland on January 2.

Westlake High School band students show the spirit of "making a difference," not just in performance, but also in service. So far this year they have donated a decorated tree to the Festival of Trees for the benefit of Primary Children's Hospital, assembled refugee kits after a band rehearsal in December, and are sponsoring a clothing drive for needy families.

In order to be invited as one of only 22 bands to march in the 2018 Rose Parade, WHS band representatives submitted a lengthy application that included videos of band performances, photos and letters of recommendation. According to the Rose Parade website, bands must demonstrate outstanding musicianship, marching ability and entertainment qualities to be selected.

"This is pretty incredible, really exciting," Mangelson said. "It is the pinnacle of what we could hope to achieve."

The WHS band has consistently placed at or near the top of local, state and western regional competitions, recently winning third place in the Utah State Championships. The Westlake High School Marching Thunder Band will be the only band from Utah in the 129^th Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

"This trip is going to be amazing," Walker said. "I couldn't ask for a better opportunity my senior year."

With a great deal of help from band boosters, parents, friends of the school and communities, the band raised approximately $75,000 to replace their eight-year-old uniforms and help with travel expenses. Viewers may be able to spot the approaching WHS band in their new light blue and navy uniforms trimmed in gold and white, in televised long views of the parade route even before the band reaches the review stand. The Westlake High School Marching Thunder Band is scheduled to march as #53 out of 89 entries in the Rose Parade which will be broadcast live beginning at 9 a.m. on New Year's Day, Monday, January 1, 2018.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Susan Mardesich, WHS Athletic Director, said in a telephone interview on December 13. "The Rose Parade is America's New Year's Celebration."