Madeline Dixon and Will Basco helped make Wando High School the state’s best marching band, and now they are taking their talents to a far bigger stage. They have been selected to join the elite Macy’s Great American Marching Band and will be playing before millions of people in New York City on Thanksgiving Day.
Dixon will be playing snare drum and Basco will play trumpet as they join other elite young musicians from every state for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Now that it’s almost here, they are naturally getting quite excited.
“It’s so close. I am so excited,” Dixon said. “It’s so cool.”
The Macy’s band members fly to New York City on the Saturday before Thanksgiving for rehearsals, sight-seeing and a leadership seminar. All expenses, including lodging and meals and local transportation, are paid by event organizers. Macy’s provides their band uniforms and they will also have plenty of souvenirs and a lifetime of memories.
“Someone posted on the (Macy’s) Facebook page, ‘can you believe it’s just three weeks away?’ My mind just completely blew apart,” Basco said. “It’s such a surreal experience.”
His trumpet audition tape had to be between four and seven minutes long and demonstrate range and versatility. Her drum audition tape required a solo of up to two minutes including a variety of techniques, with at least a portion of the solo performed marking time. Applicants were judged on technical proficiency, tone quality, and overall general musicianship.
Dixon is a senior and Basco is a junior; both have been in Charleston County School District band programs for six years. They have known for months they were picked for the Macy’s band, but not many people at school know about it. “We’re not open about it,” Dixon said. “If they ask, we’ll tell them.”
This is the 10th year for the Macy’s Great American Band and students from 14,000 high schools can apply. About 250 are selected for the elite group, and the second year that Wando has been represented. Alicia Cameron played trumpet in the Macy’s band last year and her experience motivated Dixon to apply.
Up to three million people are expected to line the parade route and when it arrives at Macy’s Herald Square, the Great American Band will perform for celebrity hosts, a grandstand audience, and more than 50 million TV viewers watching the broadcast live on NBC.
The Today Show also will feature a special segment on the Macy’s band, and Basco and Dixon are both planning to audition. “I really want that,” she laughed.
Wando band director Bobby Lambert is proud of his young musicians and impressed by what they have accomplished.
“Wando is pretty well recognized and that doesn’t hurt, but it all comes down to how they perform. It’s based on their performance, so what they got, they got themselves,” he said.
“The whole thing knowing that you’re going to be on TV in front of millions and millions of people, the week leading up to that is just incredible.”
Basco and Dixon, and Cameron before them, all attended Moultrie Middle School and joined the Wando band from there. Lambert praised the local musical community.
“The middle schools around here are incredible, too. They build such a great foundation,” he said. “The kids have all the talent and the ability and we try to try to present opportunities for them to go maximize that talent.”