Graham Spencer-Orrell of Northampton to march in band at Macy's Parade
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NORTHAMPTON - On Thanksgiving morning, for the first time in his life, Graham Spencer-Orrell will not be sitting at home watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He'll be marching in it.
In a dream come true, Spencer-Orrell, 17, a Northampton High School senior and proud trumpet player in the NHS marching band, was selected to be part of the Great American Marching Band, one of 11 bands to hit Manhattan streets for the 85th annual parade Thursday.
"He's beside himself," said his mother, Julie Spencer-Robinson, of Spring Grove Avenue in Florence.
She called the iconic parade "lore in our family." Watching it was part of her upbringing as a child, she said. She introduced the tradition to her own three children, Graham, his sister Madeline and brother Roscoe, and it stuck.
"Thanksgiving can't start until Santa arrives at the end of the parade at noon," she joked.
When her children were younger, she said, they'd cozy up in their pajamas in bed and watch the spectacle from beginning to end. Spencer-Robinson said she views it as "a little slice of New York," and particularly likes getting a glimpse of some Broadway shows in the acts included in the three-hour affair.
Graham Spencer-Orrell has been a devoted marching band member ever since his freshman year at NHS, according to his mother. This year, after taking part in the summer drum major academy at UMass, he is one of three drum majors in the band.
NHS Band Director Deb Coon suggested to Spencer-Orrell that he consider trying out for the parade's marching band, which seeks to have representation from all 50 states. Spencer-Orrell was game, practicing "Disco Inferno," one of tunes the band will be playing Thursday, and preparing an audition clip.
"It all happened so fast," said his mother.
On Saturday, Spencer-Orrell took a train from Springfield to Penn Station in New York City, where he was picked up and ferried to a hotel in New Jersey where members of the Great American Marching Band are staying while they practice and prepare for the big day.
The schedule the band members follow is a grueling one, including uniform fittings, hours and hours of rehearsal in a coliseum in New Jersey, sightseeing in New York City and listening to a motivational speaker.
Spencer-Robinson said she's had brief conversations with her son, despite his hectic schedule.
"He's so into it, this is so his skill set," she said. "He's just having a ball."
Reached early Monday evening after a long day of rehearsals, and before heading out to hear the motivational speaker, Spencer-Orrell seemed to be having the time of his life. He said he is the only person from Massachusetts out of the 250 in the band, but he's enjoying immensely the experience of meeting so many new people.
"It's going really well," he said competing with the sounds of energetic young people in the background. "There's lots of nice people and the music's really good."
Spencer-Orrell said he had fantasies about getting the entire Northampton High School band to be part of the parade, but when he realized that might not be realistic, he decided to try out for the Great American Marching Band.
Asked what his favorite part of the trip is, Spencer-Orrell said, without a second's hesitation, it is the band uniforms: bold red-and-white, with a white hat with a red Macy's star emblazoned on it.
"They're really nice uniforms and they're really comfy," he explained. "It feels like being part of something really big wearing them."
He admits to being "very nervous" about the big day, but his excitement about possibly meeting country music stars Scotty McCreery and Rodney Atkins is greater than his worry.
"I would love to run into one of them," he said.
Spencer-Orrell's schedule Thursday will be another exhausting one. They've been told it's lights out tonight to get some sleep before getting up and on the bus to New York by 1:30 a.m. They've got a 5 a.m. breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe before heading to the parade staging area. After the parade, they head back to their hotel for a dinner dance.
Meanwhile, back at home, Spencer-Robinson said, the family will be among the estimate 44 million people watching the parade.
Given that the Great American Band is about 250 members strong, Spencer-Robinson said she realizes chances are slim that she'll actually spot her son among the crowd. Still, she's hoping that his height - at 6 feet, 4 inches tall - will make it possible.
One thing is certain. "We're all going to be glued to the TV," she said.
