Slippery Rock University's marching band set to perform in London's New Year's Day Parade

The tubas – five in all – went first.

They and other large brass and percussion instruments, plus enough band gear to fill a 26-foot box truck, had to be packed up and shipped overseas weeks before members of the Slippery Rock University Marching Pride band boarded flights for London.

That meant students crossing the Atlantic Ocean took it on faith that instruments they hadn’t seen since finals week – ones they needed for the biggest performance of their lives – would be waiting for them and in good shape on Thursday when they arrived.

“They’re supposed to be at the hotel when we get there. So cross your fingers,” said Jonathan Helmick, associate music professor at Slippery Rock and director of bands.

London’s New Year’s Day Parade steps off at noon local time Monday (7 a.m. Eastern). When it does, half a million spectators there and millions more watching internationally on TV will see Slippery Rock join other performers welcoming the New Year in a European capital.

What they won’t see are two years of paperwork and logistical chores that started in March 2022, when Slippery Rock received an invitation to march.

The SRU Marching Pride is the largest and most visible student organization at Slippery Rock, according to the university’s website. The band is comprised of musicians, drum majors, color guard (flag/rifle team), and student managers.

Before the band could introduce “Rock Pride” to the streets of London, transportation contracts would first have to be scrutinized and the trip’s value as a study abroad experience would need to be verified.

A slew of details including dietary issues, cell phone use overseas and the need for a valid passport had to be discussed with students – some making their first trip on a plane.

“Food allergies. Things like that. All those little things that you don’t think about,” Helmick said.

More than 140 band members who signed on for the six-day trip left Pittsburgh International Airport on three flights Wednesday.

For months, the band held events that raised more than $30,000 toward the trip. They rehearsed the songs they will perform again and again this fall.

Elation over their approaching departure was obvious on the band’s Facebook page this week. Members of the clarinet, piccolo, color guard and trombone sections counted down the days by posting videos of themselves.

Ellie Schooley, 20, a music therapy major from Fredericksburg, Va., said it hit her as she headed back to her off-campus apartment Tuesday night.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is real. We’re actually going to do this. I’m going to be on a plane tomorrow,” said Schooley, who plays the piccolo and wants to work in health care.

Slippery Rock joins 100 acts including college and high schools bands across the country. Another Pennsylvania school, Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, also received an invite.

Emily Eastman, 21, a Slippery Rock senior music education major who plays the euphonium, said her parents will watch from home in Union City, Erie County as she and her peers fulfill a dream.

She knows what she will do if she spots a TV camera.

“When we’re performing we’re not allowed to wave, but when we’re not performing, absolutely”’ she said.

The parade steps off along Piccadilly and runs through Central London, past some of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, including Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and 10 Downing Street, home of the Prime Minister. It concludes at Parliament Square and Westminster, near the Big Ben clock tower.

In the U.S. the parade will air live on hundreds of PBS stations, including Pittsburgh’s WQED, starting at 7 a.m. Eastern. It also will be streamed live on lnydp.com.

Student musical tours, out of town or outside the country, expose performers to places they otherwise might never see. The SRU Jazz Ensemble and Chamber Singers toured Italy and France recently, while The Marching Pride has competed in Ireland.

Eastman, the band’s commanding officer, said music study has allowed her and peers to see the world.

“I would say that for about a tenth of the band at least, this will be their first flight,” said Eastman. “For a majority of the band, this is their first time out of the country. Many got passports just for this.”

Students will visit museums and landmarks, including Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Marching in the London parade is by invitation only. The process that brought Slippery Rock there stretches back more than two years and includes being vetted from afar.

“You don’t really know it but you’re being watched. They’re looking at social media, for example, your Facebook page. They go through and measure the health of the organization, the performance quality, both music and visuals and marching,’’ he said. “Nothing’s official until they come out and actually extend the formal invitation.”

That happened when a delegation from London, including Bob Bone, founder and chairman of the parade, chartered a jet to fly to Slippery Rock. Their first attempt in March 2022 was delayed by weather so they came in September that year.

Having been told to expect an unspecified guest speaker, band members assembled in Swope Music Hall in March 2022 erupted in cheers when Helmick identified where they would be marching.

“Folks, we’re going to London,” he said.

Helmick said students will learn something about themselves, both as musicians, and as they move about an international city of nearly 9 million residents.

“When you turn your first corner and you look down the street and there’s 500,000 people lining up on either side of the street and you realize that they are there to hear and see you – that’s a once- in-a- lifetime experience,” Helmick said. “Also, developing self reliance – having to do everything from negotiating like a massive transit system , the London Tube. They will come back different people.”