For the second time in a row, Shelby Stratton got to conquer the five-and-a-half mile route Rose Parade in Pasadena with the Bulldog Marching Band (BMB) in January.
As a marching band member since 2011, the Rose Parade means so much more to Stratton than just a performance. For her, it strengthens her connection with her grandfather.
“My grandfather has late stage Parkinson’s disease, and for most of my life I have been slowly watching this disease take over his body,” Stratton said. “I felt very connected to him when I was walking the parade this year with Fresno State, because I know that if he could have been there, he would have loved it, and he would have been so proud of me.”
Her grandfather was the band director at Clovis High School in the 80s where Stratton now teaches color guard.
“He took the Clovis High band to the Rose Parade and there’s a photo of them marching down Colorado Boulevard hanging in the director’s office at Clovis High,” Stratton said.
The Bulldogs turned it into a five-day event packed with rehearsals, dinners and special performances.
Band director commends leaders and members
Band Director Steven McKeithen said the BMB did a phenomenal job at the spectacle.
“I was so proud of the Bulldog Marching Band in every phase of the Rose Parade and the other events we are required to perform in during that experience,” McKeithen said. “They performed both visually and musically at a standard-setting level and I could not be more proud of how they also brought energy and professionalism to our performance as well.”
The New Year’s Day celebration dates back to the 1800s with the Tournament of Roses football game.
The plethora of flowers in the winter season blossomed at the start of the Rose Parade.
Logistically speaking, there are so many things that go into attending such an event. According to McKeithen, travel itineraries need to be arranged and there are several deadlines and timetables that have to be accounted for; all of which is unfeasible without a supporting staff, he said.
“None of what we do to move 275 members into action can happen without their leadership,” McKeithen said.
Nonetheless, he says it was a great experience overall.
“There were no real obstacles other than the amount of time it takes to prepare the performances to ensure we are at an internationally acclaimed level of performance,” McKeithen said. “All of our logistics also went well so I would not say we experienced any challenges that are beyond the norm in an event of that magnitude.”
Strengths put to the test
The BMB’s head drum major this year, Danielle Densmore, says the Rose Parade is one of the most amazing things she’s experienced in her musical career.
As a primary saxophone player, she says she’s grateful for all of the opportunities she has been presented with.
“I had friends and family texting me saying how excited they were to see us on the broadcast and how much joy it brought them so I am overall just very grateful and thankful that Fresno State’s Bulldog Marching Band has allowed me to have these different opportunities,” Densmore said. “My sister kind of said it best that it’s how many once in a lifetime opportunities am I going to get to have and I’ve got to have so many through Fresno State marching band.”
Densmore attended the parade both times and she says this time around, the band’s preparation stood out.
“I’m at the very front I can hear everything behind me and I remember thinking probably about mile six that I was so impressed with how well the band was still performing this far into the parade route and I genuinely think that’s because we all knew what to expect,” Densmore said.
Densmore’s strength and capability was put to the test during the several mile path, as she was heavily sick at the time.
However, she fought through it and says it was incredible.
“I did have the flu and strep throat at the same time throughout the Rose Parade itself so that was a little rough, but I powered through and I had a fantastic time,” Densmore said. “The weather was beautiful. It was sunny, but it was just cold enough that it was comfortable.”
Densmore also said that she thinks that the marching band deserves more recognition for all their hard work.
She stresses the meaning of music and how it’s an essential part of Fresno State.
“Music overall is really important and it’s really amazing that we’ve been given so many opportunities to highlight the amazing things that Fresno State marching band does,” Densmore said. “This is our second time in the Rose Parade. We’ve marched in Ireland. We perform lots of community events. We host local shows for the high school students to come and perform and overall, this marching band is extremely community based and I would say it’s a really cool core part of Fresno State.”
Exceptional instructor leadership
Caleb Benson, a 4th year color guard member, says his favorite part of the experience this year was the relationships they fostered.
He gives a lot of credit to the instructors.
“I feel like this year, we really bonded, especially with our new instructors,” Benson said. “There was a lot of thought and care with our choreography, with our new uniforms, and making sure that we looked and felt the best that we could.”
Benson says it was obvious that Stratton and their other coach Taylor Hopfer were very thoughtful in their planning and that it was prominently showcased.
“I think both of our instructors, Shelby and Taylor, did a great job,” Benson said. “They told us also that they wanted to make sure that we looked really clean, but that we were having a good time and that we felt good, so that translated in the way they designed our uniforms.”
Their biggest goal in attending the parade for a second time was outshining themselves. The only competitiveness is seen amongst each group, but in a healthy, positive manner.
“We just wanted to give a better performance than we had done the first time, so in the way we sounded and the way we looked just kind of outdoing ourselves from the previous performance,” Benson said. “It is, in no sense, a competition between the other groups there. We’re all just trying to give our best performance and our best representation of our group.”
Benson also recognizes the privilege it is to have attended the parade not once, but twice.
“The fact that we got invited back, let alone having made it the first time, is like, a really big honor,” Benson said. “And so that’s how I see it. It’s just an amazing opportunity to be able to go again.”
A spectacle filled with emotion
Stratton recalls the Rose Parade as a moment being on cloud nine. She says she’s never experienced something so amazing, adding that the staff is amazingly kind.
Seeing smiling Bulldog fans makes everything worth it, considering the long distance from Fresno.
“It was cool seeing Fresno State fans sprinkled throughout the parade route,” Stratton said. “They were so happy to see us come down the street that it didn’t matter that my feet hurt or that I was tired.”
A memory that Stratton distinctly remembers is a specific point in the parade.
“There’s one section of the parade that I will remember doing forever,” Stratton said. “It’s at the very end, and you go under a freeway overpass. The street gets really narrow, and the band is so close together, and since you’re under the overpass it gets really loud. It’s a very popular place for the people who are just there for the bands to sit, because you get hit with a wall of sound from each band that goes through.”
Stratton says the band’s excellent performance is in part due to the members and how much effort everyone put in.
“The members this year were some of if not the hardest working group I’ve ever had the privilege of being in front of,” Stratton said. “They welcomed us in with open arms and they allowed us to take this program to the next level.”
Topped with the exhilaration from her grandfather’s recollection and the high of adrenaline from the crowd, Stratton truly felt the pride of the valley.
“I was filled with so much pride for my community when we were at the Rose Parade,” Stratton said. “Most of the time it’s not ‘cool’ to be in band, and people, even some of the people here at Fresno State, don’t always treat us fairly. But that day, really that week at the Rose Parade, we felt like rock stars.”
