BHS band students to perform in Macy's Day Parade

Bigfork High School juniors Alex Hider and Mielle Hubbard won’t be spending Thanksgiving with their families this year and neither will their band teacher Randi Tunnell. Instead, they will be in New York City with Hider and Hubbard performing in the Macy’s Day Parade alongside some of the best high school student musicians from each state in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band.

“It is definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, something they won’t forget,” Tunnell said. “They are definitely representing the school and the community very well.”

They will leave Bigfork on Nov. 17 and arrive in New York City where they will practice performing and marching each day until Thanksgiving on Nov. 22. Then on Thanksgiving they will leave their hotel at 2:30 a.m. to get their uniforms ready and prepare for the three-mile long parade march.

After the parade, the band will perform at Macy’s Herald Square with celebrity hosts, a grandstand audience and an estimated 50 million TV viewers watching it on NBC.

Participation in the band is through audition and invitation only and is limited to 225 students; space is limited based on position and home state. In Hider and Hubbard’s case, they were invited after performing in Honors Band last February. Hider plays piccolo and Hubbard plays clarinet, both are first-chair for their instruments in the BHS band.

Tunnell said the girls have been leaders in the band and involved in outside events such as honors band and the state music festival last spring where each received an “excellent” rating.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Hider said. “Most bands go to Europe, but that is more expensive and I’ve never been to New York and that is cool.”

However, just because the girls were invited to join the band doesn’t guarantee they will perform. They need to fund the trip first, approximately $2,000 each for registration fees, hotel, meals, and flight tickets. Plus an additional $1,000 so Tunnell can chaperone, for a grand total of about $5,000.

The fees are paid in installments leading up to the actual event. So far the girls have funded it themselves out of pocket and by having a car wash the weekend before last where they raised $529.05 with help from their fellow BHS band members.

“Camus Garnett was there the whole time,” Hubbard said. “We love people’s generosity.”

They are currently seeking sponsors to help fund the rest of the trip. Those interested in sponsoring Hubbard and Hider can make a deposit in the BHS Band Fund account set up at Flathead Bank.

“It’s very cool that they were selected to do this,” Tunnell said. “It shows that hard work pays off, that Bigfork bands can get you further than just Bigfork.”

For more information or to help sponsor their trip, call Randi Tunnell at 837-7420 ex. 251.