Three PSUSD band directors to march at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Three Palm Springs Unified School District band directors have been selected to join a marching band of 400 band directors from across the country in the historic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade® on November 23
Rancho Mirage High Band Director Dr. Brian McDaniel and Assistant Band Director Mark Wienand along with Desert Hot Springs High Band Director Anthony Rodriguez have been selected to participate.
Both McDaniel and Wienand were also part of the group last year.
“The Macy’s Day Parade is the best way to start off the Giving Season,” said McDaniel.
“The Macy’s Day Parade is, as I remember it, the way the world starts the winter celebratory season,” added Wienand.
McDaniel, Wienand, and Rodriguez aren't the only local band directors who will participate in the march. Coachella Valley High School band director Daniel Granillo was also among those selected.
The Saluting America’s Band Directors parade entry will again convey its theme, “America’s band directors: We teach music. We teach life” to recognize the extraordinary dedication and accomplishments of band directors and music educators everywhere.
Throughout their careers, the music educators in this band have collectively mentored and taught hundreds of thousands of students. These professionals not only teach and direct music, they teach about life itself.
The band will be directed by nationally known music educator and innovative band director Jon Waters.
The sponsoring organization behind the Saluting America’s Band Directors project is the Michael D. Sewell
Memorial Foundation, based in Pickerington, Ohio. The foundation was created to recognize and carry on the work of the late Mike Sewell, who dedicated his life to the school and community music programs in Pickerington and the Central Ohio area for almost 40 years.
