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SUPER BASH!
SUPER BASH! JACKSON MEMORIAL MARCHING BAND PERFORMS IN NY GIANTS PARADE
By Lauren Puglisi
 | | --Photo Courtesy Of Jazz Band Director Scott Katona The Jackson Jaguars performed in front of hundreds of fans at the Giants Super Bowl Celebration Parade this Tuesday afternoon in New York City. |
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Sunday was a big day for the Giants. And Tuesday was a big day for the Jaguars.
After the New York Giants' big Super Bowl win last weekend, the Jackson Memorial Marching Band was surprised with the opportunity to be part of the Giants' tickertape parade in New York City.
Having a chance to march for the hometown team was a big honor for band members.
"My parents always told me that I've been a Giants fan since the day I was born," said Andrew Mcallister, marching band captain, while showing off his Giants Super Bowl Champions t-shirt.
Mcallister is not the only Giants fan in the group. Many of his fellow band mates were hoping for a win from the Giants, as well as a possible invite to perform at the football team's celebration parade.
Bud McCormick, the 25-year director of the band, said Mayor Bloomberg called him early Monday morning to invite the band to the parade.
"Many of my students did not find out about the performance until a few hours before tonight's surprise rehearsal," McCormick said. "Since we were given less than 24-hours notice to prepare, I'm sure that we will be practicing for a few hours into the night."
According to McCormick, the Jackson Memorial Jaguars Marching Band arrived at the school at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning and went straight to New York City.
That's where the excitement began.
"The parade was awesome. It was really a once in a lifetime experience for so many of my students," McCormick said. "It was really exciting to see how many people were in the crowd. I would say there were about 20 to 30 rows of people deep."
Tuesday morning's parade started at Battery Park and followed a route through the financial district before finishing at City Hall, where the key of the city was presented to the Giants.
According to Scott Katona, Jackson Memorial's Jazz Band Director, the parade stretch is widely known as the "Canyon of Heroes" because many parades throughout history have taken place there.
"Being at the parade was a fun-filled day, there was lots of excitement from spectators and the students really had a great time," Katona said.
Marching in the parade was not the first high-profile performance for the band. The Jackson Memorial Jaguars have been performing throughout large venues across the United States while also winning highly ranked awards for many years.
Some of the band's most recent accomplishments include winning the 2006 Espirit De Corps Award at the USSBA All-State Championships in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and earning second place with Best Overall Marching at the New Jersey State Championships USSBA.
On Tuesday, Susette Ingram, a senior at Jackson Memorial and the assistant drum major for the band, said she was looking forward to the parade.
"When I found out that we were going to be in the parade, I was really excited," Ingram said. "For the past four years that I have been on the band, we have won many awards and competitions. When I was just a freshman, our band even performed at the presidential inaugurations in Washington D.C."
Assistant band director Jessie Katona said the band performed "The Hey Song" and Frank Sinatra's classic "New York, New York."
"Usually, we perform songs that are already prepared for us, but we have allowed the students to edit or write some of the music we will be performing, which they really enjoy doing," Katona said.
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