Westside family members march in N.Y.'s Thanksgiving parade
Toolbox
By SARAH HINCKLEY Herald Staff - Published: November 30, 2006
Two teen trumpeters from West Rutland helped lead an 80-year Thanksgiving tradition this year in New York City.
The Sawyer siblings, Beth, 16, and Tom, 14, were chosen to represent Vermont in the first Great American Marching Band that led the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. The band is made up of high school musicians from all 50 states, most of whom audition to qualify.
"I didn't meet somebody from Hawaii, but I did meet the Alaska kid," Beth said. "I hung out with the Montana kids a lot."
In addition to musicians, the band also included color guards and dancers. All told, there were 204 members of the Great American Marching Band.
The group was directed by Rick Good, the associate director of bands at Auburn University in Georgia.
Beth and Tom come from a musical family: Six of the eight Sawyer children take piano lessons and five take brass lessons. The family's children are home-schooled. Beth and Tom attend West Rutland School for gym and Spanish classes.
They also play in the high school's bands, which include jazz combo, concert band, and the marching band. School music teacher Kate Cromer recommended them for the Great American Marching Band. Outside school, both participate in the Lakes Region Youth Orchestra.
Beth and Tom were two of 17 band members to be chosen to play first trumpet. There were 41 trumpeters in the band.
"It was kind of cool to be first trumpet. Both Tom and I got to be in the front all the time," said Beth, who was the leader of her row. "If I wasn't on, the entire row would be off."
At a block-a-minute pace, it took 45 minutes to walk the two-and-a-half mile parade route.
"I guess some of the woodwinds in the back had to run to keep up," said Tom, who normally plays the French horn.
Before the marching began, the group waited more than an hour in the rain.
"It literally rained on our parade," said Beth, thankful for the waterproof shoes they were given. "We were all cold and wet, but not miserable."
The life of a traveling musician has its ups and downs. Tom and Beth left for the city on Sunday and hit the ground running. Each day they awoke at 6 a.m.; most nights they didn't go to sleep until 11 p.m. They spent their days rehearsing, touring and preparing for the parade.
"We never had enough sleep," Beth said. She and Tom both were feeling under the weather during the trip.
They traveled to New York with their trumpet mouthpieces, but without their trumpets. New, shiny horns were donated by Yamaha. Organizers issued uniforms made up of a hat, plume, jacket, bibbers and dinkles — shiny, white, waterproof shoes.
"We just felt really sharp in those," Beth said.
While organizers were going down the list of names and uniform sizes, someone made a mistake and some female band members were not sized correctly.
"The parade was two days away and I still didn't have a uniform that fit," Beth said. Eventually the problem was resolved.
Tom and Beth have had a number of music instructors who have helped mold their talent. They take lessons from Sharon Teer, who specializes in brass instruments.
"They have a great amount of talent for their age," Teer said. "Their talent is very outstanding. They have what you call the gift."
When Tom was asked what he learned on the trip to New York City, he echoed a sentiment that Teer works to instill in her students.
"If you really want to, you can do anything," Tom said, "anything you ever dreamed of."
The family financed the trip. Carol, their mom, said Christmas went to New York City with the children. Travel and other expenses cost $1,000 for each of them.
Even if it means eating macaroni and cheese for the rest of the year, "We have bragging rights for the rest of our life," Beth said.
Contact Sarah Hinckley at sarah.hinckley@rutlandherald.com
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