Band Blog

Forty-six members of the Colony High School marching band are getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in the Jan. 20 Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C. The band is the only active high school marching band in the state, and the invitation to represent Alaska coincides with the 50th anniversary of statehood. A few band members agreed to share their experiences with the Daily News as part of their trip.


Band bloggers

Zach Hoyt

My name is Zach Hoyt and I am a 17 year old senior in the Colony High School Marching Band. I have been in the band since our previous trip to DC for the 4th of July Parade in 2006 as a banner-carrier and am now one of the cymbal players on the drumline.

Gayle Hoyt

My name is Gayle Hoyt. I am a senior, and I have been a member of the marching band since my freshman year, when it was started. I play the alto saxophone.

Breanna Romeo

I'm Breanna Romeo, my nickname is Bree, that's usually what I go by. I'm a Senior and I'm 18. I have been in Marching Band for 4 years, and band in general since 5th grade. I play the flute usually, but for marching band I play the piccolo.

Clayton Powell

Clayton Powell is serving as one of the adult chaperones on the trip. He is a Master Sgt. in the US Air Force stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base with the 3rd maintenance operations squadron. He has two children in band. Donte, 16, a senior, who is going to be holding the band banner during the parade and Oreanna, 15, a sophomore, who is going to be a color guard member.

Archive

The next day: Morning coffee with Alaska's senators - 1/22/2009 6:28 pm

Inauguration Day! - 1/21/2009 11:25 am

Inauguration Day! - 1/20/2009 10:39 pm

Touring D.C. - 1/20/2009 12:55 am

Monday on the Mall - 1/20/2009 12:48 am

The day before: Monuments and museums - 1/20/2009 12:46 am

From Newark to D.C. - 1/20/2009 12:45 am

Newark to Fairfax - 1/18/2009 11:43 pm

Newark to Fairfax - 1/18/2009 11:29 pm

NY Times features Colony Band's trip to inauguration - 1/17/2009 7:38 pm

Meet band blogger: Breanna Romeo - 1/17/2009 7:35 pm

Meet band blogger: Gayle Hoyt - 1/17/2009 7:34 pm

Meet band blogger: Zach Hoyt - 1/16/2009 8:53 pm

Touring D.C.

Posted by band_blog

Posted: January 20, 2009 - 12:55 am

Comments (0) |

By Zach Hoyt

1/19/09: Today we started the day out with a trip to the Washington Monument and the surrounding area, where we spent some time walking around and visiting the various memorials.

Mr. Powell at the Washington MonumentMr. Powell at the Washington Monument

WWI MemorialWWI Memorial

My group made our way to the World War II memorial from the Washington Monument to start with, getting pictures around the Alaska Wreath and brushing up on our World War II quotes.

From the World War II memorial, we made our way around the frozen reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial, although we could not approach it because of preparations for the Inaugural celebration.

Vietnam MemorialVietnam Memorial

We ventured from the base of the Reflecting pool to the Vietnam Wall, where we paid our respects to those lost in the war, as well as met several current servicemen who were here for the inauguration.

After seeing the Wall, the band loaded up on the bus and took a short ride to the Holocaust Museum, where the group was split in half and given the option of going to one of the Smithsonian Museums or the Holocaust Museum.

I chose to go with a group to the American History Museum, checking out the displays of old musical instruments, the Military History section and several other exhibits.

After lunch at the Atrium Cafe, we checked out the Smithsonian Art Gallery, which was really cool to see. The art gallery closed at 5, and so we walked to meet our bus to go to dinner.

At the Alaska WreathAt the Alaska Wreath

The crowds in DC were starting to really get hyped up for tomorrow, and many of us began to think about the parade.

We ate dinner and returned to the hotel to make our final preparations for the march. Now the cymbals are reassembled, the uniform is ready to go, and now it is time for me to say good night and get ready for the early morning trip to check in at the Pentagon tomorrow.


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