Albany State University Band enjoys trip of a lifetime

ALBANY — For six months, members of the Albany State University Marching Band, the Albany State family and the Albany community worked hard to send 122 members of the group to march in the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years Day in Pasadena, Calif.

The “Rams in the Roses” campaign set a fund-raising goal of $250,000 for the trip, and they raised more than $300,000.

Now that the trip is over and band members have returned to their homes before classes begin, the lasting memories weren’t about the California weather or even the parade itself. It was the people they met during the trip who provided the indelible images of a lifetime.

“It was amazing how receptive the people were to us, and how willing they were to accept a band of our kind,” drum major Malik Walker said Tuesday. “Quite frankly, we didn’t know how they were going to react to our style. They’d never seen anything like us before.”

The ASU band was the lone Historically Black College or University (HBCU) band to be invited to march in the parade.

“The people really gave us a warm welcome, they were so nice and supportive of us it really helped,” band member Yhanique Jenkins said. “It really helped make it a great experience overall. It was really fun.”

And what of the parade itself?

“We marched for more than five miles with our fellow band people,” Jenkins said. “And as we marched I looked at the people lining the parade route and thought ‘we made it, and all the hard work finally paid off.’ It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Walker agreed.

“The whole trip was a great experience,” Walker said. “The crowds gave us a lot of confidence for our performances. We even got a standing ovation once. The only thing that surprised me was the weather. I was expecting to wear shorts a lot, but we spend most of the time bundled up in coats.”

ASU Band Director Michael Decuir said the trip left a positive impression and was a learning experience for the students.

“We had a great time and I am still on Cloud Nine. It was a superb trip,” Decuir said. “Seeing the looks on the kids faces as they performed on the Santa Monica Pier was special. “You have to remember many of my kids have never been out of Georgia and had never seen the ocean before.

“As a teacher I want the best for our students … that was the whole idea behind performing in the parade. We were so busy during the time we spent in California that it was exhausting, but it was also enlightening.”