School Band Plays Host to Easterners

A New Jersey high school’s band soon will be visiting Cypress. And Cypress High School band members are hoping for a reciprocal visit to their New Jersey counterparts at Ridgewood High this year and a possible appearance in the nation’s most famous Thanksgiving parade.

“Our Cypress band hopes to be invited to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City,” explained Shen Yeh, a band parent who is spokesman for the high’s school Band & Pageantry Boosters.

“If Cypress High gets invited to New York, our band members will be able to stay with the families of the band from Ridgewood,” which is close to New York City, Yeh said.

Yeh said the New Jersey band wanted to visit Orange County this month to be in a Southern California band competition. Band officials searched for a possible host band by asking Macy’s for a list of California bands likely to be invited to New York this fall. Cypress High was among schools on the list.

Ridgewood High’s band officials then contacted Cypress High, and housing arrangements were made, Yeh said. The Ridgewood High Band members are scheduled to stay in Cypress from Feb. 8-11, living in the homes of Cypress High band members.

“Two Ridgewood students will be staying at my home,” said Yeh, whose son, David, 17, is a member of the Cypress High band. “While the New Jersey students are here, they’ll take trips to see things. Disneyland is one place they’ll go to.”

Yeh said Cypress students are eagerly looking forward to making friends with their teenage counterparts from the East.

And, Yeh said, the Cypress High students are keeping their fingers crossed.

“Our band thinks it has a good chance to be invited to the Macy’s Parade,” he added.