Day 4 - Band Fest 2018

by Mallory Jagger and Sophie Vigneux

This morning, after waking up at 8 and having breakfast, we made our way to the Rose Bowl for the official tour photo. The process was very efficient and you could tell that they had everything planned down to the minute. It was also fun seeing who was the tallest and shortest in band when being put in place for the photo. Afterwards, we encountered a surprise photo shoot where every band members got their own portrait taken. Then, we walked all the way over to the center where the floats for the parade were being built with fresh flowers. We then walked back to the buses and made our way to Pasadena City College for our Bandfest performance. For our lunch, we got to experience the famous american In-and-Out burger. After our very rushed meal, the loading crew unloaded in record time, we put on our tunics, and headed out to the field without a warm-up. As we watched the Los Angeles Unified School District Band our hearts started to race with anticipation for our first performance in California, especially because we had been working on this field show for over a year now and had only put the final touches on the show two days ago. When we moved into our starting positions, we knew we were ready! As the first note rang around the stadium, everything seamlessly fell into place. As I (Mallory) turned around into my solo position for the song I Have a Love, my breath was taken away, and I was trying not to break out into a smile. I knew my whole family was watching me and as I hit the first and last notes I couldn’t have been happier with our performance. One of the highlights of our show was when we played our fourth song Tonight, and turned towards the other half of the stadium. The crowd went wild! We were the only band to play a song facing that side, and you could tell it was appreciated. When we finished the show, and we marched out to Big Noise, we knew we had made a lasting impression. Back at the buses, we were able to socialize and trade pins with the other bands which was really cool. Tomorrow will be our last day to relax as we prepare for the big parade on January 1st, 2018!