BA's high school band begins its rosy adventure

BY ZACK STOYCOFF World Staff Writer
Friday, December 28, 2012
12/28/12 at 3:57 AM

Broken Arrow: Read previous stories related to Broken Arrow and get contact information for Broken Arrow officials.

BROKEN ARROW - Dillon Hollingsworth came to see his sister off Thursday as she and other members of the Broken Arrow High School marching band loaded a week's worth of clothes and supplies onto seven charter buses bound for Pasadena, Calif.

Hollingsworth, a recent graduate, performed with the band in its first appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2009. Beth Hollingsworth, a junior, will do the same in its second appearance Tuesday.

"It's a one-of-a-kind ex-perience," Dillon Hollings- worth said. "It's something you're not going to get anywhere else."

The 264-member band, along with 20 chaperones and 15 band directors, left the high school about noon Thursday and planned to arrive in Southern California four days before marching in the nationally-televised New Year's Day parade.

Their itinerary includes a tour of Hollywood and visits to Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood, along with rehearsals. On the way back, the group will stop at the Grand Canyon.

"I think we've created a real life-changing, memorable trip for the kids," band director Darrin Davis said. "I took a poll of the students, and I was surprised how many never had been to California, seen the Grand Canyon or the Pacific Ocean."

Beth Hollingsworth said she most looks forward to spending New Year's Eve at Disneyland, where the band will march in uniform and then enjoy the park. Other students said they looked forward to seeing the Grand Canyon or simply going out of state for the first time.

But for junior Brittany Jeffers, marching in the parade will be the trip's indisputable highlight.

"Everybody's going to be watching," she said.

As many as a million onlookers are expected along the 5-mile route, and millions more will watch on television, Davis said. That exposure is good for Broken Arrow and Oklahoma, not just the band, he said.

"As much as that does for us, it's for our community and our state," he said. "We don't feel like we're just representing Broken Arrow. We're the nation's representatives for the parade."

The band was invited to the parade after it won the 2011 Bands of America Grand National Championships, which it also won in 2006, Davis said.

The success is the latest in "a long history of tradition" that continues because band members are deeply invested in the program, he said.

"What is the thing for us is the kids truly take ownership of the band," he said. "When you have their kind of work ethic, it really makes a band director's job easy because they buy in 100 percent to whatever crazy thing you ask."

But they are still high school students, and that means chaperones are ready for occasional headaches on the ride to California, chaperone Cindy Kimbrough said.

"Our kids are used to traveling together; just not this far," she said.

Watch the parade

The parade will be broadcast beginning at 10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, New Year's Day, on several television networks, including ABC, NBC and HGTV.

Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Michael Woodard, a senior who plays the tuba, and his mother, Karen Woodard, say goodbye Thursday as the Broken Arrow High School band buses are loaded for a trip to the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year's Day. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Weighted down with her luggage, sophomore bass drummer Addison Wimpee makes her way to the bus Thursday as the Broken Arrow High School band prepares to leave for Pasadena, Calif., and the Tournament of Roses parade. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Junior saxophone player Addison Lee loads her luggage onto a bus Thursday as the Broken Arrow High School band prepares to leave for its trip to march in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year's Day. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World