Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Spartans marching band performs in the Mountain Brook High School Homecoming Parade in Crestline Village on Sept. 9.
When Jason Smith came to Mountain Brook High School as the band director eight years ago, one of his goals for the program was to give the band an international spotlight.
He has done just that. The band performed at the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in 2016 and the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, in 2019.
To kick off 2023, the band will be performing in the Rome New Year’s Day Parade on Jan. 1 on World Peace Day. Crowds will gather in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate and receive the Pope’s New Year’s Day blessing. The event is an important part of Rome’s holiday season and during the World Day of Peace, the parade celebrates life, cultural diversity and international goodwill.
The parade path will travel along the grand Via della Conciliazione and culminate in St. Peter’s Square.
“We march through downtown Rome where the Pope will give a blessing,” Smith said. “After the parade, we perform in the courtyards of the Vatican — that is really the impetus for our travel, to go and be international representatives in Rome for World Peace Day.”
Participants in the parade include military, civic and school marching bands and auxiliary units from the U.S. and Canada.
To prepare for the trip, the band has been having after-school rehearsals. Smith also held meetings for parents to discuss travel specifics.
“We will also do some in-depth study of where we’re going, including the museums and locations, and discuss what we’ll see,” he said.
Smith said that traveling internationally with a group of kids is challenging, but also rewarding at the same time.
“A whole lot of things come with international travel like long flights, foreign countries,” Smith said. “We were blessed to have a wonderful experience when we traveled to Hawaii and Normandy. Those type successes we are able to build on.”
When asked how the band is invited to attend these events, Smith told Village Living that it’s a combination of several things.
“I've been teaching for 28 years and have built a reputation with the programs I've been able to take on trips,” he said. “Mountain Brook as a school is recognized nationally and the reputation carries itself. We also have a history of traveling well. Whenever you have a band that performs well, has a solid director and the program has a solid reputation, this quite naturally opens the doors for other events to be presented to you.”
The plan for this trip is for around 50 band members and 45 chaperones to leave on Dec. 28 for Rome, where they will stay for four days. In addition to their performances, they will spend time diving into all the history Rome has to offer, Smith said.
The plan is to see a performance of the ballet “Don Quixote” and possibly a trip to Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius.
From Rome, the group will go to Florence for two days before spending several days in Venice and then a stop in Milan before returning home on Jan. 8.
The 11-day trip will take place during the second half of Christmas break, and the students will only miss two days of instructional time after school is back in session in January.
The band will perform “Italian Mambo” by Dean Martin, the Mountain Brook High fight song and a patriotic song.
“You never really are satisfied, and are always working on the next thing,” Smith said. “We're constantly planning for things all the time.”
For more information about the parade, visit romenewyearsparade.com.
