Cal Poly Mustang Band will perform at the Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco on March 7.
Every year, Mustang Band performs a three-song pep tune setlist for the parade. Mustang Band always performs “Yea Poly,” followed by a pep tune from their collection and a special piece arranged specifically for the parade. This year’s pep tune is “Fireball.” They prepare their performance setlist well in advance every year.
“This year, since it’s the Year of the Horse, our final tune is a popular Chinese pop tune, but with the intro and outro being Ride High.” Waldron said.
The band will leave early in the morning to arrive in San Francisco on time on the day of the parade. They rehearse and then perform a “pre-parade concert on the Embarcadero at 3 p.m.” according to Waldron, before going to the parade area. The parade begins at 5 p.m., but the Mustang Band usually does not start moving for another hour.
Mustang Band is primarily student-run
Over 200 students, staff and faculty travel to the event. The band’s “Core Leadership” team coordinates travel and room assignments for everyone attending according to Elizabeth Grulikowski, the band’s CEO and music junior. A student “bus captain” is appointed for each of the four buses that transport attendees, and a director is ensured to be on each bus. The leadership team spends most of the year leading the band, and this parade is one of their biggest opportunities.
In addition to coordinating travel and hotel accommodations, the band adds extra practices to their regular practice schedule to prepare for the event.
“We rehearse the four Sundays leading up to the parade to practice the music and build stamina, ensuring we can perform the entire 1.9 miles of the parade,” Waldron said.
Every year, the Mustang Band applies to attend the parade, and they find out if they are accepted the week before Thanksgiving. According to Nick Waldron, associate director of bands, planning for this trip begins immediately after acceptance — booking travel and accommodations and planning rehearsals. The parade is streamed live on ABC Live and Hulu in addition to the live audience of crowds who come to watch the event.
“We are closely coordinated with the parade schedule because it is a large operation with everything planned down to the minute,” Waldron said.
According to Grulikowski, these practices involve rehearsing as a full band, splitting into sections to rehearse growth areas and then working at stations to practice “gate turns.” These turns are part of the formations that the band moves in while walking in the parade.
After these stations, they assemble the full band into one parade block and practice the parade route for the rest of the rehearsal. They perform their pieces full-out and practice their “dance moves.”
“It’s a super fun time and a great way to build up stamina,” Grulikowski said.
Melody Garibay, a business administration sophomore who plays clarinet, agreed with Grulikowski about the importance of these rehearsals.
“Hydrating and getting plenty of sleep in the weeks leading up to the parade is important. We’ll be moving the whole time, so staying on top of your water and rest helps with stamina, focus, and just feeling good overall on parade day,” Garibay said.
Garibay said she was excited about attending the parade a second time, as she attended last year. She explained Mustang Band typically performs in a battle-of-the-bands with UC Davis, but this year they will not be participating in this event. However, their other scheduled performances are still happening.
Leading up to the event, Mustang Band will be posting updates on their Instagram page and each section’s page. According to Garibay, band members will host Instagram takeovers to show what the parade experience looks like from a band member’s point of view.
“Being part of a group that puts so much heart into what they do has made it really easy to stay committed and excited,” Garibay said.
Architecture freshman Addison Tice-Raskin said the parade route size is larger than their practice space.
“We go around the H lots perimeter up to around seven times in a single run. It gets a little painful in the sun, but the key is hydration and sunscreen,” Tice-Raskin said.
This is Tice-Raskin’s first time attending the parade with the band.
“I’m hyped for traveling and being part of this event is incredible — and a thank you to the staff and leadership, because this trip required a lot of prep work and I hope that doesn’t go unnoticed!” Tice-Raskin wrote in an email to Mustang News.