USA East Music BULLETIN - WINTER 2018/19 - ISSUE 1 | Page 20

REPORT FROM CALI
By Rachel Dina, Cleveland Temple, OH
Upon our arrival in LA, California for the
Tournament of Roses Parade, all participants
started our week off right away with a
combined rehearsal at Camp Mt. Crags.
For our first rehearsal with the bands from
Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom,
Canada and America, we began practicing
for the Rose Bowl Bandfest. This rehearsal
was a great way to jump into the week, as we
met many people from other territories and
learned how to blend and move as a group.
The next couple of days were focused
on playing and marching for the Rose Bowl
Bandfest as well as preparation for the
Sunday morning meetings. As a collective
group we rehearsed and performed “Fanfare
St. Francais”, “Amazing Grace”, “Dies Irie”, “Auld
Lang Syne”, and “This is Our Story” on the
Pasadena City College field.
The next day each Territorial Youth
Band played at a different corps for Sunday
morning. The Eastern Territory attended the
Santa Ana Corps. Romina Morton preached
in Spanish that morning to the Latino
congregation.
The next couple of days were focused
on preparing for mixed band rehearsals and
for the parade itself. The mixed bands were
made up of all the members of the Territorial
Youth Bands along with chaperones, and
were lead by the leaders of the youth bands.
The groups were set up so that a participant
did not play under their own leader. What
a great time! A new leader, new music,
and many new friendships established. We
rehearsed in these groups a few hours each
day culminating in the final concert on
Wednesday night that was livestreamed.
When we were not rehearsing we were
often visiting popular California attractions
20 • USA EAST MUSIC BULLETIN | W I N T E R 2019
such as Hollywood, the Santa Monica Pier,
Old Pasadena and of course DisneyLand.
As for the parade itself, as a band of 400
musicians, we memorized arrangements of
“This is My Story” and “Amazing Grace”. I am
sure everyone in the group would agree
that the experience was a once in a lifetime
event. We not only marched in a parade
that is televised around the world but also
represented our love for God. The parade was
a perfect way to start the new year and was
followed by even more opportunities such as
marching in DisneyLand.
To sum up the week… it was filled with
blistered feet, tired lips and long bus rides, but
also amazing once in a lifetime experiences.
There were a ton of laughs, new friendships
formed, new music played and many people
witnessed to. ■
W W W. M U S I C . S A CO N N E C T S . O R G