UMass Amherst marching band headed to 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s marching band has been selected to perform in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The surprise announcement took place at halftime during a football game between UMass and New Mexico. This will be the Minuteman Marching Band’s second time performing in the parade, the first being in 2013.

Band director Tim Anderson has led the group since 2011.

“We've been rebuilding, you know, coming out of the pandemic and stuff like that, and everyone's worked really hard,” Anderson said. “This is just a real neat thing for them to kind of say, you know, almost officially saying we're back to where we were before.”

The group was selected as one of ten bands that will be performing at the parade from a pool of over one hundred applicants from colleges and high schools across the country. The selection coincides with the 150th anniversary of the band’s founding this year.

According to Anderson, he was aware of the selection as early as last spring. The news was kept secret from the public — and the band members themselves — until Saturday’s announcement.

“I'm somewhat amazed we were able to keep it under wraps for that long,” he said.

Marielle Chrupcala is a junior at UMass and a drum major. She recalled the moment when the announcement was made that the band would be performing at next year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, describing it as “electric.”

“The band sounded incredible after the announcement because everyone was just so excited to play,” she said.

The announcement also coincided with Band Day, a day where high school bands from across Massachusetts are invited to UMass to experience a halftime performance by the Minuteman Marching Band.

Qeanu Smith, a junior and drum major, said that the announcement sparked interest from the visiting high schoolers.

“There were a lot of high schoolers after that were coming up and were like, ‘Oh, so like, how do I get into UMass?’” she said. “They're like, 'Oh my goodness... I could go to UMass next year and be in the band,' which was really awesome... to get more people to go with us next year.”

Fundraising is still in the works to cover travel and lodging expenses for the trip to New York City, but a $10,000 check from Macy’s will give the band a head start on covering costs. The check was presented to the band by Jim Maher, manager of the Macy’s location in Holyoke.

Taylor Durant, one of five feature twirlers currently in the band, is a junior at UMass. She said that she values the band’s sense of community.

“It's always a good environment and we always have a lot of fun together out on the field," she said. “They say all the time that it's easy to make a big university feel small, but you can't make a small university feel big. And the marching band is how I make this big university feel small.”

While the band has over 300 members this year, Anderson mentioned that the group is still smaller than it was in 2013 at their last appearance in the parade, likely due to the impact of the pandemic. He believes that the parade announcement, however, will lead to more student interest in the group next year.

This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by New England Public Media.