Centerville High School jazz band to perform in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

CENTERVILLE — The Centerville High School jazz band will be marching into the national spotlight this Thanksgiving with a performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The band’s performance in the parade was initially announced in April 2019, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the performance was delayed to this year.

Amara Jain, Centerville senior, told News Center 7′s James Rider the band was excited about the upcoming performance and the opportunity to represent the entire state.

“It’s really just a dream come true honestly,” Jain said.

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Nevaeh Haskins, Centerville senior, called the opportunity to participate in the parade “unreal.”

“I still can’t believe it, honestly, to this day. I’m grateful and I’m so fortunate to be able to go,” Haskins said.

Jain said that the band spends most of the season participating in competitions and called a “really intense process,” so they were prepared for the training and to rise to the occasion on a national stage.

“This is still just as intense, but I think we have a bigger target that we have to hit now,” Jain said.

The band began their preparations this week. To get ready, they are marching around the high school, eventually building distance. There are 2.5 miles of public viewing along the parade route this year and the band wants to make sure they get off on the right foot.

In addition to building endurance, the band members said they were in the process of learning new songs to play on Thanksgiving. They want to look and sound their best on the national stage.

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“The actual performance on the star in front of Macy’s, that’s 75 seconds of just pure airtime, which is a lot in this business,” Brandon Barrometti, CHS band director, said.

Barrometti said the delay from when the band was originally selected to perform caused two senior classes to miss the opportunity. He said he hopes being able to go this year carries meaning for this year’s senior class.

“We really hope this performance means a lot to those seniors and they fell like they’re part of this, and they’re a big reason why we’re there,” Barrometti said.

Haskins said the opportunity to perform allows her to be grateful for everything and everyday.

“I’m just taking this as an opportunity to really just be grateful because I’m really blesses to go, now that it’s really happening,” Haskins said.

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