The holidays are upon us, the new year is quickly approaching, and our 2017 Rose Parade preparations are in full swing! This will be SCV’s second New Year’s trip to Pasadena after making an appearance at the parade in 2004. Once again, we are thrilled to represent the City of Santa Clara, State of California, and Drum Corps International as a whole – all while performing live for thousands of viewers across the country.
THE GROUP:
The day after Christmas, 245 current and former members of the Santa Clara Vanguard will assemble in the Bay Area to begin rehearsals for our 2017 Rose Parade performance! Almost twice the size allowed in DCI competition, this mega-corps ensemble is made up of 58 color guard members, 26 percussionists, and 157 horn players. The large group will fall under the leadership of 2016 SCV Drum Major, Christopher Harper, who will be assisted by Vanguard Cadets’ drum majors Carl Huang (2013-2015), Joselyne Grace (2016), and Sarah Nishikawa (2016). Rose Parade membership spans 4 years of SCV history, reaching back to 2013, and represents all four of Vanguard’s DCI/WGI programs (SCV, Vanguard Cadets, SCV Winter Guard, and Vanguard Winter Percussion)!
THE MUSIC:
After much consideration, our selection of Rose Parade tunes will mix a little bit of something classic with something new and fun: Battle Hymn of the Republic/God Bless America, Bullets and Bayonets (an SCV parade classic), and Bruno Mars’ chart-topping hit – Uptown Funk!
Aside from the parade, we will also be performing at Bandfest! Sponsored by our good friends at Remo, Bandfest features the many outstanding marching bands selected to participate in the 2017 Rose Parade. The corps will perform an abbreviated standstill of the 2014 “Scheherazade” program at the event on Friday, December 30, which will take place at Pasadena City College’s Robinson Stadium (1570 E. Colorado Blvd.), site of the 2007 DCI Open Class World Championships.
THE PARADE:
2017 marks the 128th Rose Parade with the theme of “Echoes of Success” which tells the story of how our nation’s character has developed through the selfless contributions of others and their inspirational gifts. The parade’s Grand Marshals are three historic olympians: Janet Evans, Allyson Felix, and Greg Louganis.
This year we will make Tournament of Roses history as the first-ever marching unit to also perform as part of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rose Parade! After Brad Ratliff, 2017 Tournament of Roses President, announces the start of the parade, cameras will zoom out across the SCV brass and percussion sections performing a special opening number on the lawn of the Tournament House. After the parade, we’ll close things out with a rousing rendition of “America the Beautiful” as the broadcast comes to and end. What better way to kick off our 50th Anniversary?
THE SCHEDULE:
Monday, December 26 – Rehearsal day/uniform fitting (Santa Clara, CA)
Tuesday, December 27 – Rehearsal day with production company (Gilroy, CA)
Wednesday, December 28 – Rehearsal/travel day (San Gabriel, CA)
Thursday, December 29 – Rehearsal day with production company (San Gabriel, CA)
Friday, December 30: – Rehearsal/Bandfest show day (Pasadena, CA)
Saturday, December 31: – Group photo, float viewing, night off (Pasadena, CA)
Sunday, January 1: – Rehearsal day (Pasadena, CA)
Monday, January 2: – Rose Parade (Pasadena, CA)
We’d like to give a quick shoutout to our corporate partners Stanbury, Field & Floor FX, Dynasty, Innovative Percussion, and DSI for helping to make this year’s Rose Parade trip a reality! You can tune in to the live Rose Parade broadcast on January 2, beginning at 8:00 AM PST. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (@scvanguard) and Snapchat (@scvanguard) for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look as we prepare for the big day!