Downers North Band To Play For 500,000 In London
CHICAGO (STMW) - They've performed for huge crowds at the Indy 500 and the McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Chicago. Now, the Downers Grove North High School marching band is headed to London to play for its biggest audience yet.
The band is one of 10 American bands picked to perform at the London New Year's Day Parade and Festival on Jan. 1, which draws about a half-million spectators and is broadcast to 220 million people worldwide, band co-director Brayer Teague said Saturday.
Today, 167 members of the marching band and 11 chaperones are flying to London. They'll return Jan. 2.
Drum major Elizabeth Meier, a senior at Downers Grove North, said she doesn't know what she's more excited about: performing in front of such a huge crowd or going abroad for the first time.
"It's a great honor, and it just puts things into perspective about how great of a music staff we have and how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful program at our school," she said.
Jitters aside, Meier said, "It's really cool to think about who you're performing for."
Teague said the Trojans' band first caught the attention of the organizers of the London parade in 2000, when the band performed at the St. Patrick's Festival in Dublin, Ireland.
Since then, he said, "We've had several invitations, but this was the first one that aligned with our tour schedule."
For its two-minute solo for the TV cameras, the band will perform Journey's "Any Way You Want It," newly popular thanks to the Fox-TV show "Glee."
The band has been preparing for its trip for 15 months, rehearsing and hosting fund-raisers. Students had to pay their own way: about $2,700 apiece. The group also received donations from community members and businesses, Teague said.
When they aren't playing or practicing next week, the students will be touring London landmarks, including St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and the Tate modern museum.
The parade will be featured on the British Broadcasting Corp.'s website, Teague said.
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