The Ashwaubenon Jaguar Marching Band is set to showcase its talent in one of the nation’s most prestigious events, the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday, March 17. Under the leadership of director Marc Jimos and assistant director Ellen Moon, the band consists of dedicated students from grades 9-12.
Senior Ella Schmelzer will lead the ensemble as drum major.
“This is the sixth time that we’ve gone to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City. So we’ve done this quite a few times,” Jimos began. “It’s the oldest one in the United States. There’s over a hundred bands there from all over the world.”
Schneider Trucking Company has generously donated a semi-truck and drivers for transportation requirements to New York.
“We will load all of our equipment on Monday and Tuesday with our suitcases, all of our uniforms, all of our musical instruments all go on there,” Jimos continued. “And then sometime Wednesday morning a Schneider driver shows up and drives everything out to our hotel in New Jersey. We fly out on Friday morning out of Chicago with all three different flights that are going out.”
In addition to the parade, students, faculty, and chaperones will be able to take in much of what New York City has to offer.
“We’re going to see a Broadway show, one of the hottest shows on Broadway right now, The Outsiders,” Jimos added. “We’re going to get to see the New York Philharmonic perform. Our choir is also going to be accompanying us and they’re going to be getting a Broadway clinic. They’re going to go to the 9-11 Museum. We’ll go to the Statue of Liberty, the Museum of Natural History. So it’s an educational trip. It’s a really fun trip for the kids.”
Assistant Band Director Ellen Moon was on this same trip as a student. She said, “This is my first kind of real big trip that I’m directing on. I was actually the drum major of the Ashwaubenon High School Marching Band and I went on the same trip when I was a senior.”
Senior Ella Schmelzer will lead the band in the parade.
“As a drum major, my responsibility is to keep the band in time,” Schmelzer said. “I conduct them and I lead them through songs and everything. And I also help coordinate things.”
The Ashwaubenon High School Band has built a reputation for its exceptional musicianship and dynamic performances.
Over the years, they have captivated audiences in major parades across the country, including The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, the King Orange Parade in Miami, the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Pan Pacific Parade in Oahu.
Since 2003, the band has proudly represented Ashwaubenon in the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade five times.
Additionally, the band has performed at halftime shows for the Green Bay Packers and even shared the stage with country superstar Keith Urban.
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