MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Mountain State will be well-represented on the national stage as part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Pride of West Virginia, the WVU Marching Band, will march through the Big Apple for the first time since 2016. There are only 11 bands in the parade.
Dean of the College of Creative Arts and Media Keith Jackson expressed excitement about the opportunity for the band to perform in front of hundreds of thousands of people in attendance and millions watching on televisions across America.
“First, this is exciting, they get to do so many wonderful things, but (they get) to do something that is seen by millions of people at one time when they are the focus,” said Jackson. “And it’s wonderful to observe and watch and realize how special it is for the students to know they’re representing the state.”
According to Jackson, final show rehearsals will begin as early as 4 a.m. on Thursday, where the Pride of West Virginia will make adjustments to their famous Flying West Virginia that is seen on Mountaineer Field during the football season and their traditional renditions of ‘Simple Gifts’ and ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ that are played during their performances. Despite some of the challenges that could come from performing on a New York City street, Jackson and the rest of the Pride of West Virginia are ready to represent the state on a national scale.
“This is our chance to put the university and the state in the national spotlight in a wonderful way. It’s a special opportunity for the students just to experience a very unique thing, but also the beauty of seeing that they represent more than themselves,” he said.
The Pride left Morgantown on Tuesday.
There are also several high school students from West Virginia that will be part of the Great American Marching Band in the parade.
Madeline Carver and Evan McConell will represent Morgantown High as percussionists and mellophonists, respectively. University High will have students Sebastian Duenas-Diaz and Abby Hess perform in the Great American Marching Band as well, with Duenas-Diaz on the trombone and Hess performing as an auxiliary dancer. The four students were selected among thousands of auditions that were submitted from across the country.
“I’m just really excited for both of them to experience this, this is just an awesome opportunity,” said Morgantown High School Band Director Lorne Hyskell on the acceptance of his two students.
The Monongalia County students, a part of the Great American Marching Band, will perform ahead of the Pride of West Virginia, who is scheduled to perform just before the appearance by Santa Claus near the end of the parade. Much like in previous parades hosted over the past several decades, each band will conduct their nationally broadcasted performance by Macy’s Herald Square, located on the final turn of the parade. With millions of eyes expected to be on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Thursday morning, both the Pride of West Virginia and the Monongalia County students a part of the Great American Marching Band hope they can represent the Mountain State in the best way possible.
“I’m really proud of, A, the dedication that’s gone into it for both of them, but B, for the fact that it’s two very fine students that are going to represent Morgantown High and Mon County schools,” Hyskell said.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and will be available to watch on local NBC affiliates and streaming on Peacock.