For 6 ½ miles in Pasadena, CA, the streets are lined with people. Cheers and hollers emanate from the crowd, threatening to drown out the main attraction. But the magnificent sound of the band can never be smothered.
The Rose Parade is one of the most prestigious parades in the nation, featuring enormous floats covered in flowers. But this year, the Rose Parade has a special meaning for the students here in Nazareth. Our very own band director, Rick Hilborn, was selected to be one of the eleven snare drums in this year’s Rose Parade.
COVID-19 hit music programs really hard. A lot of parents and students were concerned about the spread of germs that would result from blowing into instruments and singing. Bands and choirs all across the country struggled to cope with new restrictions and the loss of members.
In response to this, The Music Educators National Conference decided to put together a band consisting of 300 band directors from every state in the nation to march in the Rose Parade.
When Hilborn first heard about this opportunity, he thought, “Okay, what do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose, but maybe a lot to gain.” He recorded an audition video and sent in his application. One the last day before Christmas break of 2020, Hilborn received an email saying that he had been accepted as a snare drummer.
“Since that day…there has been a lot of preparation. We started to get music for this back in June of last year… so obviously the music has to be learned. It has to be memorized,” Hilborn said.
The Rose Parade is different from many other traditional performances, in that the band members don’t actually come together to practice until three days before the parade. They will meet on Dec 29 for the first time and practice for 3 straight days until the performance on Jan 1.
“I was working on my own in preparation and I was excited to see what everything was going to sound like. They’ve given us recordings of the music that we can play along with and practice with but you really… [have] to do all the preparation on your own basically,” Hilborn said.
Hilborn is very excited to be a part of the Rose Parade this year. He said he feels honored to have been selected to participate in such an amazing event. He cannot wait to see everything come together. However, Hilborn is also feeling a little anxious about his upcoming performance.
“It's a little intimidating to prepare because you want to be prepared and you want to have a good time doing it, but at the same time…I don’t wanna go out there and make a fool of myself,” he said.
Not only does Hilborn feel honored to be a part of the Rose Parade, his students do as well. Tanishka Dhingra, a flautist for the NAHS marching band, said, “Mr. Hilborn, he is awesome at his instrument…He totally deserves it. It's a really awesome opportunity, and we are happy for him.”
“I’m so proud of him,” adds trumpet player Alison Hawley.
Hilborn has been working tirelessly in preparation for the Rose Parade, but he is ready. He flies to California on Dec 26 and cannot wait to march with the band on Jan 1.
The Rose Bowl will be streamed on ABC, NBC, Hallmark Channel, and HGTV at 8am PST on New Year’s Day. Hop on to watch Nazareth’s very own band director, Rick Hilborn, play snare drum in the Rose Parade of 2022.
Psssst….We got inside info from Mr. Hilborn that Hallmark or HGTV are the best places to catch him because sometimes the networks cut to commercials during the bands!
The Rose Parade is one of the most prestigious parades in the nation, featuring enormous floats covered in flowers. But this year, the Rose Parade has a special meaning for the students here in Nazareth. Our very own band director, Rick Hilborn, was selected to be one of the eleven snare drums in this year’s Rose Parade.
COVID-19 hit music programs really hard. A lot of parents and students were concerned about the spread of germs that would result from blowing into instruments and singing. Bands and choirs all across the country struggled to cope with new restrictions and the loss of members.
In response to this, The Music Educators National Conference decided to put together a band consisting of 300 band directors from every state in the nation to march in the Rose Parade.
When Hilborn first heard about this opportunity, he thought, “Okay, what do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose, but maybe a lot to gain.” He recorded an audition video and sent in his application. One the last day before Christmas break of 2020, Hilborn received an email saying that he had been accepted as a snare drummer.
“Since that day…there has been a lot of preparation. We started to get music for this back in June of last year… so obviously the music has to be learned. It has to be memorized,” Hilborn said.
The Rose Parade is different from many other traditional performances, in that the band members don’t actually come together to practice until three days before the parade. They will meet on Dec 29 for the first time and practice for 3 straight days until the performance on Jan 1.
“I was working on my own in preparation and I was excited to see what everything was going to sound like. They’ve given us recordings of the music that we can play along with and practice with but you really… [have] to do all the preparation on your own basically,” Hilborn said.
Hilborn is very excited to be a part of the Rose Parade this year. He said he feels honored to have been selected to participate in such an amazing event. He cannot wait to see everything come together. However, Hilborn is also feeling a little anxious about his upcoming performance.
“It's a little intimidating to prepare because you want to be prepared and you want to have a good time doing it, but at the same time…I don’t wanna go out there and make a fool of myself,” he said.
Not only does Hilborn feel honored to be a part of the Rose Parade, his students do as well. Tanishka Dhingra, a flautist for the NAHS marching band, said, “Mr. Hilborn, he is awesome at his instrument…He totally deserves it. It's a really awesome opportunity, and we are happy for him.”
“I’m so proud of him,” adds trumpet player Alison Hawley.
Hilborn has been working tirelessly in preparation for the Rose Parade, but he is ready. He flies to California on Dec 26 and cannot wait to march with the band on Jan 1.
The Rose Bowl will be streamed on ABC, NBC, Hallmark Channel, and HGTV at 8am PST on New Year’s Day. Hop on to watch Nazareth’s very own band director, Rick Hilborn, play snare drum in the Rose Parade of 2022.
Psssst….We got inside info from Mr. Hilborn that Hallmark or HGTV are the best places to catch him because sometimes the networks cut to commercials during the bands!
Photo Credit: Mr. Hilborn