One of my favorite events of the year is the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. The event takes place every year on the morning of January 1. This exciting parade is televised live from the city of my birth: Pasadena, California. I love everything about the parade: the flower-festooned floats, the sprightly equestrian units, the celebrity appearances, and the spectacular marching bands. And every year when I watch this parade on television, the dedication of our nation’s talented band directors always amazes me. Here is Part 1 of a three-day series that features these accomplished music educators.

Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band

The Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band performed in the Rose Parade under the direction of music educator Mark Trulson.

Head Marching Band Director Mark Trulson led the 275 students who comprise the impressive Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band. The students who form this group come from three high schools that represent the Southern California cities of Alhambra, Monterey Park, and San Gabriel. Those schools are Mark Keppel High School, Alhambra High School, and San Gabriel High School.

Head Marching Band Director Mark Trulson led the Alhambra Unified School District Marching Band in this year’s Rose Parade.

“To get into the Rose Parade, it’s like making it to the Super Bowl,” asserted Mark. He was the band director when the school made their Rose Parade debut 10 years ago. “It’s fun to be back,” the talented music educator remarked. “The first time you do, it’s awe-inspiring,” he said. “The second time, we’ve done this before, we got this,” he concluded.

Mark hails from Massachusetts originally. He has been a music teacher at Alhambra High School since 2003. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

Interestingly, 2020 Tournament of Roses President Laura Farber is a graduate of Alhambra High School.

Dobyns-Bennett High School Marching Band

Music Educator Lafe Cook serves as the Director of Bands for Dobyns-Bennett High school in Kingsport, Tennessee.

Director of Bands Lafe Cook led more than 300 students from Dobyns-Bennett High School located in Kingsport, Tennessee. This accomplished group encompasses the largest band program in the state of Tennessee. It is one of only 14 band programs in the country that has earned both the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor and the Sudler Shield Award. This is the group’s fourth appearance in the Rose Parade.

Lafe has been a high school band director for a total of 26 years. He is in his 20th year as the Director of the Dobyns-Bennett Band program. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. There he was the drum major of the university’s marching band and a graduate assistant with the Music Department. He taught at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, for six years prior to coming to Dobyns-Bennett.

The Dobyns-Bennett High School Band under the direction of Lafe Cook made its fourth appearance in the annual Rose Parade extravaganza.

Greendale High School Marching Band

Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg led the Greendale High School Marching Band from Greendale, Wisconsin, through the parade route. This was the first appearance of the 222-member award-winning group. Greendale High School has earned the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s prestigious Sudler Shield Award. In addition, the school has garnered the Wisconsin School Music Association State Marching Band Competition an impressive 15 times. They also marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2016.

Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg led his students in this years Rose Parade.

“There are thousands of high schools across the country, and only a select few get to do something on this scale, marching in front of not only that many people in California, but that many people watching around the world on New Year’s morning,” observed Tom.

Tom has been the Band Director at Greendale since 2001. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater in 2001. He earned his Master’s degree in Music Education from Boston University in 2008.  For his work in the classroom, this talented music educator garnered the Michael G. George Distinguished Service Award in 2017. He also earned the Educator of the Year honor from the Greendale Chamber of Commerce in 2016, and the Herb Kohl Fellowship Award in 2015.

The Greendale High School Marching Band marched in the Rose Parade under the leadership of Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg.

To learn more about the bands that marched in this year’s parade, see the list at this link: Tournament of Roses.