“Hey, we just received word that a man wearing a white beard and a red suit is bringing his sleigh in for a landing,’ NBC Weatherman Al Roker during the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
So, what could be better than being in next year 100th Macy's Parade? How about being the opening act for Santa Claus four years ago.
“From Tuscaloosa, Alabama to escort the jolly gentleman is director Ken Ozello and his massive 400 member University of Alabama Million Dollar Band,’ Roker continued during the 2021 parade telecast.
The University of Alabama million dollar band performed in the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But the band wasn't just in any old spot. The Tuscaloosa students performed just ahead of the float carrying Kris Kringle and Mrs. Claus, which is the parade's final.
“For me, it's one of those…the Macy's Parade is one of those iconic American traditions,” said Doctor Kenneth Ozello, Director of Bands at the University of Alabama, speaks highly of his experience with the band in 2021.
“It kind of kicks off the holiday season. So it's a feel good event,” Ozello observed. “You know, people are making their Thanksgiving dinners and gathering with families, and it's just a really cool piece of Americana, for sure.”
“I definitely did not process until that first meeting when they told us we have to plan to pack for New York and stuff like that,” said Josiah Cooperwood. He was a freshman in the Million Dollar Band in 2021, and got a front row seat.
“And I was like, oh, like, we're we're actually going now,” he recalled.
Cooperwood is a graduate student and a drum major for the Million Dollar Band.
“So, it took a while for that, for that feeling to hit, and it really wasn't until our plane landed that I really kind of took it all in,” he said.
Cooperwood remembers the surprise of feeling the Alabama love all the way in the Big Apple.
“But, I think my favorite part of the parade overall was just seeing all the people that were there to see us, if that makes sense, like all of the people on the sideline who were like, who were there to watch the Million Dollar Band themselves, and it's like it was insane, like I had never felt such a wave of appreciation For I mean, I just, I played Superman, like that's all I really did. And I just, I was not, I was definitely not prepared for for that, for the support and for the love and for the the world tides we got all the way in New York, and there was a lot of them,” Cooperwood said.
Yet, getting that first gig in the Macy's Parade didn't happen overnight. The UA Band had to make it through a highly competitive application process. Schools apply two years ahead of time to be in the parade. That means submitting videos, photographs and records of past experiences in hopes of standing out among over 100 applicants.
“Our our team of experts sit down each and every year,” said Will Coss. He’s the executive producer of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
“We work through and have discussions around applicants who've who've submitted their their tapes to us for review.”
Coss says there are certain things he looks for when selecting a marching band for the parade.
“Our goal is to ensure not only that our floats and balloons and other performance groups are our best of class, but our our marching bands, one of the consistent and key drivers, literally, the soundtrack to the parade through the streets of New York City, are operating at their at their best and their finest,” he said.
So, getting the “yes” from Macy's was just the beginning. The band got to work preparing the performance and music, as well as practicing parade marching.
We had to get used to working in close quarters and moving very quickly,” said Ozello.
“Because you're you have a time limitation and you want to get in the camera zone as fast as possible, and do as much as possible. So you have to rehearse it quite a bit,” he recalled.
“We were used to having an entire football field to march in,” said Josiah Cooper. “And, then we're kind of condensed into this really, really thin, like 400 bandpiece line.
According to Cooperwood, all of the hard work was worth it.
“So yeah, by the time that we got there, it really was just second nature to us, because we had done it for so long,” He said.
And, the band will work just as hard to prepare for Santa's arrival on Thanksgiving morning next year, as they help celebrate 100 Years of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades.
“The 100th parade only comes around every once a century,” said Will Koss.
He hopes to make the 100th parade the most memorable one yet.
“Also, celebrates the history and integrity of the parade and everything that all of our fans have grown to love over the last you know, 100 parades,” he said.
Ozello looks forward to giving his students this special experience.
“It'll be something they'll be telling their children about their grandchildren, especially, I think it's really cool that it's going to be the 100th anniversary of the parade they'll be able to tell their family and friends that they were part of that, which I think will be very cool,” said Ozello.
