The Rose Parade, a cherished New Year’s Day tradition since 1890, is a pastime that many fondly await year after year, including San Marino High School students Hillary Zheng and William Meier.
But the students, who have been attending the parade with their families since they were young, will not return to the sidelines to cheer on the floats and performers on Jan.1. Instead, for the first time ever, they will be the ones turning the corner on Orange Grove Boulevard to travel the 5-and-a-half-mile iconic parade route to entertain the masses through their respective roles, which were designated to them by the Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band.
Annually, the Rose Parade attracts more than 700,000 in-person fans who come from near and far to watch the spectacle unfold live in Pasadena. The crowds are typically joined by roughly 50 million viewers tuning in remotely across the United States and international audiences from an estimated 170 countries.
The PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band has marched in the Rose Parade since 1930 and comprises of PCC Lancer Marching Band members and select high school students throughout Southern California. More than 500 high school music students auditioned for the 225 spots in the band. Among them was Zheng, who will be participating in the pageantry section by artfully performing with tall flags, also known as banners.
Meier, who also auditioned, will be marching separately from the band as he was selected to be one of the nine trumpeters in the Pasadena City College Herald Trumpets. He was chosen from the PCC trumpeters and more than 70 Southern California high school musicians. The unit also includes a snare drummer. The parade next week will mark the 44th consecutive year the PCC Herald Trumpeters will be playing fanfares, marching just ahead of the Rose Court float to announce its arrival.
“Knowing how talented San Marino students are and seeing the quality of our music program this year, I wasn’t surprised that we had students chosen for the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band,” SMHS Principal Benjamin Wolf told the Tribune. “I’ve been a high school principal for 18 years, and I never get tired of seeing students succeed and be recognized for their hard work and dedication.”
Though SMHS Band Director Krissia Molina only joined the high school recently, she said it didn’t take long for her to take note of Meier and Zheng’s impact as leaders.
“Will is looked up to by a lot of the younger students,” Molina said. “They know he’s a great musician and a great player, and Hillary really stepped up this year. We promoted her to color guard captain. We definitely saw that she’s committed and puts in the work. She’s very organized in helping us keep the boat rowing and moving.
“In my eyes, all of these things mean they are good leaders if the rest of the ensemble looks up to them,” she added.
BORN FOR A LARGER STAGE
Zheng’s parents, Vivian Lai and Bill Zheng, said their daughter always held a love for dance, an interest that took root at the age of 2 when she started taking community center dance classes because she was too young to be enrolled in a proper dance school.
“She was born to dance,” said Lai, who recalls the way a woman approached her to compliment her 2-year-old’s moves as they sat listening to a concert at a park.
Zheng learned the basics until she was ready to join a dance school a year later. At 3 years old, she graced the stage for the first time.
“I’ve always been a performer,” Zheng said. “I did my first public performance when I was 3, so something about performing on stage and entertaining a crowd has always been inside of me.”
Now a junior at San Marino High, her step-by-step journey has led her to the color guard team, where she first dipped her toe in as a freshman. Without that moment of self-discovery, she might not have earned her spot of captain and made her way to the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band audition.
“I think it’s so amazing when you try a new skill and you’re able to get it down through hard work, and I don’t think experience can be emulated from anything else because tosses can be dangerous and difficult, but it is so rewarding once you get the hang of them,” said Zheng, who added that now as captain, it’s also worthwhile guiding her team, especially the newcomers.
“It’s exciting for me to be able to watch them catch new tosses, learn new tricks and polish their dance skills,” Zheng said. “It’s honestly crazy to see how much they’ve grown in the span of a couple of weeks or months at a time. I literally could not be more proud of them.”
The banners’ audition process required Zheng to do a lot of footwork and formations with the tall flags, which she was only able to accomplish after passing the regular flag auditions — an impressive feat only a few high schoolers attempted.
“I didn’t really tell anyone I was going to audition because I wanted it to be a surprise, but I’m really thankful for my coaches, because although they were really tough, they prepared me really well for the auditions performance wise and technique wise,” Zheng said. “I don’t think I could have gotten it without their coaching.”
Since then, Zheng has been juggling school and parade rehearsals. At first, her parents were concerned the workload would be overwhelming; however, she handled the added responsibilities gracefully.
“We are so proud of her. Between her academics and her preparation for the parade — both of which are not easy things to do — she did well with time management while also working very hard,” said Lai, who noted that she has seen Zheng’s confidence soar throughout this period.
Reflecting on her upbringing in Taiwan, Lai admires Zheng for following her passions.
“When I was young, I didn’t have this chance to be in the marching band, so I think this is very good for Hillary,” Lai said. “In my home country, everybody only studied to pass exams for college, no one wanted to spend time on extracurricular activities. So, to see Hillary grow up here at this school and have the opportunity to further her development in every area, including performing, makes me so happy.”
When Zheng was an infant, she originally lived in the Pasadena area. Her childhood home was only a walking distance to Colorado Boulevard, so on New Year’s Day, her parents brought her to see the Rose Parade nearly every year. This has been true ever since then, even though they are now San Marino residents.
“When Hillary was a baby, I remember her sitting on her father’s shoulders watching the parade,” Lai said. “She was so excited, and when she saw the Queen and the Princesses on the float, she said she wanted to be up there one day, and I said, ‘You will.’ And it’s so amazing that, right now, she is getting ready to be a part of the next parade in the New Year, in the band.”
Though Zheng did not meet the age requirement to apply for the Rose Court this year, she said she jumped at the opportunity to participate in the parade with the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band. Zheng said she’s most looking forward to seeing her parents in the crowd.
“It’s so exciting to be able to present yourself to TVs and cameras and to have people from around the world see you perform, but what’s more important to me is making my parents proud, because they are the ones that have been there for me through thick and thin — when I was stressed, when I felt low. I don’t think I would have been able to persevere without them, and I’m really grateful for the support they gave me.”
Zheng also said she’s happy to be representing the color guard community on this grand stage.
“The community is what I’m most proud of for color guard,” Zheng said. “There’s a really bad reputation for us ‘band kids.’ Some kids live up to that, but I swear most of us are just kids in band and completely separate from that stereotype. But either way, I’ve learned to love the community so much, because the experience of listening to live music and musicians pouring out their emotions through music and then being able to perform to that is something so special, and a lot of people who don’t join band never get this same experience.
“The ‘band kid’ phenomenon is something hard to explain, but once you experience it, it’s hard to forget about it.”
MUSIC LEADS MEIER TO PARADE
Meier, a sophomore at SMHS, is not the only one in his family to march in the Rose Parade. His mother, Courtney Meier, also relished in the experience back in 1987 as part of the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band.
Meier, inspired by his brother, started playing trumpet in fifth grade, but didn’t find a love for music until meeting his middle school band director. In freshman year, he joined the SMHS marching band, concert band on trumpet and the orchestra on French horn. This year, he has picked up the mellophone in the marching band and trumpet in wind ensemble.
Music has served as an outlet for Meier over the years, and it has also provided him with a sense of community.
“I enjoy music and band because of the friends it has allowed me to make and for the freedom to express my feelings through music,” Meier said.
When upperclassman and friend, Anderson Sun, auditioned for the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band the previous year and made the PCC Herald Trumpets, Meier knew he wanted to do the same.
Sun was actually the person to call and inform Meier that he was not just chosen for the band, but also was named a Herald Trumpet.
“At first I thought that it must have been a mistake, but I soon realized it was not,” Meier said. “It is very special that my hard work has paid off in this way.”
“Will set himself the goal of being a Herald, one of the nine top trumpet players who march in front of the Queen’s float,” his mom Courtney said. “Since he’s only a sophomore this year, I thought getting a spot with the Herald Trumpets might be a long shot for him. I expected that he would probably be accepted to the Honor Band instead. When he texted me a picture of the audition result, and I saw that he’d been selected as a Herald, I was thrilled for him. He’s been working hard to memorize the fanfares, keep track of his rehearsal schedule and balance it all with his schoolwork. I’m proud of him.”
Meier said his favorite part about being in the band is being able to challenge himself — through the difficult music and playing environment.
“This experience will be very rewarding, allowing me to be better at my instrument and marching,” said Meier, who added that he has the responsibility of calling out each fanfare, so the entire group of Heralds know what to play and when.
As the Rose Parade approaches, Meier said he’s most eager to perform for his family and friends.
“I expect it will be very exciting to finally perform all of our hard work,” said Meier, whose family has been attending the parade every year, in the same spot at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Hill Avenue since his mother was a child.
“We always enjoy the bands the most,” Courtney said. “Our family will be there this year in our usual spot to cheer for Will and all of the bands.”
Zheng and Meier have the whole San Marino Unified School District standing behind them as their cheerleaders ahead of the big parade day.
Superintendent Linda de la Torre expressed delight in their recognition.
“Their dedication, talent and hard work shine as they represent our exceptional high school Titans in this prestigious band,” de la Torre said. “We eagerly await their performance and are thrilled to see them grace the New Year’s Day parade with their incredible musical prowess.”
Board of Education President Shelley Ryan also shared her enthusiasm for their personal victory.
“As board president, I am immensely proud and honored to have these outstanding students from our high school marching in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade,” Ryan said. “… Their participation not only reflects their exceptional abilities, but also showcases the strength and excellence of our school community.”
First published in the Dec. 28 issue of the San Marino Tribune
