Gilbert high school musician to perform in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Nov 22, 2014, 3:40 PM | Updated: 3:40 pm
Just two lucky Arizona students were chosen to participate in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
The East Valley Tribune reports one of those two Arizonans is Caitlyn Booher, a senior at Williams Field High School in Gilbert. She is the first student from her school to receive such an honor.
Booher leads the clarinet section of the Black Hawks’ marching band, and she will perform in Macy’s Great American Marching Band on Nov. 27. The band is comprised of invitees from across the county — 185 students in all. The large, diverse group gets just one week of training prior to marching down the streets of New York.
The Williams Field student said she learned about the opportunity on Facebook, and she had to post on audition video on YouTube.
“I didn’t think I’d make it because anyone in the country could have,” Booher told the EVT.
The East Valley has had school marching bands participate in the annual Thanksgiving celebration before — Mountain View High School in Mesa marched as a unit last year — but Williams Field band director Bob Edgar said this is the first time the school has had one of its band members participate.
Edgar added that not only is Booher skilled on the clarinet, but she also cleans up the band room, manages equipment and helps her bandmates learn the routines.
It fits in quite well with Booher’s future plans, as she said she wants to attend Arizona State University to major in music and become a professional performer or teacher. She said the upcoming trip to New York for the marching band could give her a handy push toward her career goals.
“I wanted to participate in this to expand my playing of clarinet and to be in this once in a lifetime parade,” she said. “”I’m looking forward to the sightseeing we get to do and to march and play in the parade itself.”
The Higley Unified School district says Booher has set up a GoFundMe account to help with her expenses.
The Macy’s parade is an annual holiday tradition that goes back almost 90 years. The parade’s website says the event is watched in person by approximately 3.5 spectators and on TV by 50 million people each year.
