Thousand Oaks Band Marches on Air in Rose Parade

In the inky predawn of New Year’s Day, the cafeteria at Thousand Oaks High School buzzed with the unadulterated energy of 240 teenagers.

It wasn’t caffeine that charged them; the members of the Thousand Oaks High School Lancer Band and Color Guard were amped on pure adrenaline.

In a few hours, the young musicians were to perform before their largest audience ever: the million people watching the 110th annual Rose Parade live and the millions more gaping at the spectacle on TV.

Stepping out a little after 9 a.m., the group would become the first Conejo Valley band to perform in the Tournament of Roses holiday parade and the first Ventura County band to perform there in 34 years.

The full thrill of the day hadn’t hit the musicians yet, but it would--just like a cymbal clap. While waiting for the bus that would take them to Pasadena, the teens polished their white shoes with baby wipes, slicked their hair with industrial-strength gel and slathered their faces with sunscreen.

Standing in her sharply pressed green, black and white uniform, senior clarinet player Sarah Cochran could barely keep still.

“My mom scared me awake at 5:05 this morning because I didn’t wake up when my alarm went off,” she said. “Now I’m really awake. It’s hard to not be alert with this going on.”

“This” was the musical equivalent of a marathon: a grueling 5 1/2-mile, two-hour march through the streets of Pasadena.

Turning onto Colorado Boulevard, band members suddenly emerged into a throng of humanity. Thrilled as they were, they had to keep track of their music, keep step with their compatriots and stay perfectly aligned--all while creating beautifully thunderous music.

The 190 Lancer musicians and 50 color guard members strode crisply, drumming out a jaunty cadence, a rowdy fight song, the theme from “Camelot” and a piece called “Purple Carnival.” Their horns shone in the midmorning sun. Faces glistening, most players couldn’t keep from grinning during brief breaks in the music.

As the band blared past the bleachers just west of Pasadena City College, about 1,000 sign-waving, hometown fans exploded into cheers. Some parents held up signs that simply read “10,” while others waved placards with the school’s initials emblazoned in green.

That was one of the day’s high points--rivaled only by a heart-stopping, drum-pounding finale through an echo chamber of a freeway underpass just blocks from the parade’s end.

Gathering in Pasadena’s Victory Park, the sweat-soaked musicians were giddy.

“My legs are about to give up on me,” said flushed sousaphone player Steve Achenbach, one of half a dozen recent Thousand Oaks graduates playing with the band. “But it really wasn’t as long as everyone claimed it would be. It didn’t feel all that long.”

To the contrary, band Director Bill Hoehne would argue that the trip to the Rose Parade has been far longer than it seemed. He has been pursuing an invitation to the parade for nine years.

Before the parade began, Hoehne, in a headset and rose-patterned tie, said that joining the Rose Parade had been his dream since he started work at Thousand Oaks High in 1989.

“The final goal for any band anywhere is to be invited to--and to attend--the Tournament of Roses Parade,” he said. “It’s the biggest audience any band can have. It’s probably the biggest feather in any band’s cap. Thousand Oaks had applied a number of times before without being invited. . . . Now, the kids are just bonkers.”

Playing in parade slot 99, Thousand Oaks was one of only 22 bands.

Of those, six slots were set aside for repeat performers.

With the band’s expert playing, precision flag waving and vibrant spirit, the Lancers easily snagged one of the 16 remaining spots, said Loren Brodhead, chairman of the Rose Parade’s music committee.

“The competition is really tough,” Brodhead said. “We look for excitement. We want to please the viewers with a band that’s large, loud, exciting, colorful, unified and precise. . . . Thousand Oaks was a true crowd pleaser. They are marvelous.”

To raise money for the event, the performers picked up litter in return for $10,000 from the city of Thousand Oaks.

Band parents held pancake breakfasts and went knocking door-to-door for donations.

Boosters raised $30,000 for 11 new silver sousaphones, but still must scrape up another $30,000 to finish paying for them. Before clambering aboard a bus for home, band co-presidents Alissa Ko and Jill Chiurazzi said they’ll be recounting their experience the rest of their lives.

“It was much better than I was expecting,” Alissa said.

“We’ll remember it forever,” Jill chimed in. “Definitely.”

* ROSE PARADE: Clear skies greeted throngs attending the 110th annual Pasadena spectacle. A1