Band headed to Philly

Getting up at 5:30 a.m. doesn’t seem like a teenager’s dream, but being a part of the Jay County High School Marching Band, it means getting ready to play in front of more than 100,000 people.
The high school’s marching band was chosen as one of 16 bands in the nation to play in Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The band will step off at 9:06 a.m. Thursday, a little more than 30 minutes after the parade’s start time, to march for almost an hour for the televised event.
“It’s great,” said band director Kelly Smeltzer. “Hopefully, we give kids experiences they can’t normally receive around this area of the country … also to give them an opportunity to perform at a national level. We’re excited we can offer that to the kids.”
Having received the news of their acceptance in October 2012 after applying two months earlier, and taking a year to raise the funds to travel, the students are ready for the opportunity to play.
“They’re excited about the performance opportunity … It’s a chance for them to do a decent performance on TV,” said Smeltzer. “We’ll perform for the crowd and hopefully entertain them.”
While excited, some in the band are starting to feel the nerves of performing in front of such a large crowd. Troy Glattli is not one of them.
“When you’re in that little group, you’re focused on the marching,” said the sophomore trumpet player. “You’re not worried about the people.”
A downside of the trip, that caused some hesitation, is the separation from their families on such a meaningful holiday.
“I was excited, but then I was a little refrained from going because I’d have to miss Thanksgiving with my family, but they’re all really supportive,” said senior drum major Kelsie Adkins. “They’re all excited to watch me.”
Others dealt with the same decision of opportunity versus family.
“I immediately knew I wanted to go,” said sophomore flutist Shayla Bogard. “I wanted to be home with my family, but it’s such a big experience, I just wanted to go. … I love being with the band and getting to do this is just a really great experience.”
The parade selected JCHS to play holiday-themed music, so Smeltzer chose a contemporary work that the band has used in local parades, “Jingle Bell Jam”, to entertain the crowd.
But the band will have opportunities along the route to play other tunes, such as the theme from Superman as well The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
As excited as the students may be, it will also be a lot of work, as most haven’t performed so continuously.
“It’s a crowd well over 100,000 so it’ll be great to perform, but they need to be able to perform an hour solid,” said Smeltzer. “We’ll play during the route of the parade and the televised area.
“What we’ll do there is play it five times in a row without stopping because they want continual playing during that time. …“It should be a good experience for them.”
The band left Tuesday night to spend time touring Philadelphia today, and once done with its performance on Thursday, will head to New York City to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in the Big Apple.
“I’m real proud of the kids,” said Smeltzer. “Hopefully they’re making some memories that they may never have again in their lifetime, to be able to attend those two cities. Hopefully it will be a good experience for them.”
The magnitude of the opportunity is not lost on the students who see it as a chance to grow.
“It helps to learn different experiences, and to perform as the band, it gives them the endurance that they need,” said Adkins. “Because if they can do this, I’m pretty sure they can do anything.”

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