By Kelly Lee
Staff Writer
Eight TCHS honor band students will march down the streets of Pasadena on New Year’s in the Rose Parade which boasts hundreds of rose-studded floats and performances students can apply for.
The Tournament of Roses Honor Band consists of over 200 high school band/colorguard students and select Pasadena City College band/color-guard students. This year, freshman Joshua Cooper (Mellophone), juniors Joseph Cooper (Trombone), Jackson Kidd (Trumpet), Jessica Reyes (Pageantry), seniors Kaylee Eiber (Percussion/ Mallets), Jayden Kim (Cymbals), Emily Sanchez (Cymbals) and Erik Selders (Tuba) made it into the honor band.
“There weren’t a lot of spots, so I was a little scared. But I’m glad I auditioned and tried it because I actually got to make it,” Sanchez said. “I’m also really excited because I really like performing and it’s pretty once in a lifetime.”
The Rose Court is a seven member group that serve as ambassadors for the Tournament of Roses and act as role models for the community. The court traditionally crowns a queen and rides on the Court float. Girls from ages 17 to 21 apply for the court through an interview process, then narrow down to a number of finalists before announcing the final court. This year, senior Anna Shore advanced as one of the 28 finalists.
“When I was in fifth grade, my stage mom for a musical was the Rose Queen and she told me that I should try out for it,” Shore said. “I thought it would be fun to try it and see what happened. It was actually pretty cool because I didn’t think I would make it that far.”
The Tournament of Roses student ambassadors program is a group of selected students who help assist in the Rose Parade, related events and promote volunteerism. Students who want to participate, apply online and acceptances are emailed a month later. This year, selected TCHS students included juniors Giovani Augustyn, Leonardo Tang, Lexi Wang, Madison Zhou, Abby Pan and Rookaya Abdelhamid, along with seniors Lucas de Paula and Fiona Mao.