Chaparral Grad to March in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

In that sea of faces passing by in the 2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, there may be at least one familiar one.  

The University of Massachusetts Marching Band, which includes freshman clarinetist from Temecula, Emily “Emy” Hardy, a 2013 Chaparral High School graduate and former drum major of the CHS Platinum Sound & Emerald Guard, was chosen this year to march in the morning parade.

While the band has marched in three Presidential inaugural parades, this year marks its first appearance in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is broadcast throughout the world.

With nearly 400 members, the UMass Marching Band is the largest collegiate marching band in the northeast and has had the honor of winning the Sudler Trophy, which is the highest honor a college marching band can receive. The band is often referred to as the Power & Class of New England. Band members hail from 18 states and three countries. The band is scheduled to arrive from Massachusetts on Tuesday, Nov. 26, to have time to explore the Big Apple before the parade.

On the morning of the parade, Emy and her bandmates will be up at 2:30 a.m. to assemble and rehearse at 4 a.m.for NBC in front of the Macy’s 34th Street store.

The band will be lining up at 7:45 a.m. Thanksgiving morning to begin the parade and will be marching down the streets of Manhattan playing a repertoire which consists of the school’s fight song, “Roll Down the Field,” “God Bless America,” and a Boston favorite: “Sweet Caroline” in honor of the Red Sox World Series champions this year.

Be sure to catch the band on television at 11:24 a.m. (EST) as they move and groove across the Macy’s Star.

Emy is the daughter of Jeannie and Dale Hardy of Temecula. Her sister, Allie, who will also be in attendance in New York, is a sophomore at the University of Oregon.

—Contributed content