High

High-school band heading to D.C.

June 30, 2001

By Kevin Denke
Journal Intern

The 78 members of the Montezuma-Cortez High School Marching Band will spend their Fourth of July performing in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C.

The band was the only one invited from Colorado to perform in the nationally televised parade. The selections were based on statewide recommendations of other bands and individuals.

Part of the reason the band was invited is its excellent reputation. Last fall, it won the regional competition and finished second in 4A state competition.

Each band member had to pay $900 to go on the trip. Some of the money was provided through fundraisers.

The band, along with director Rodney Ritthaler, will drive to Albuquerque and then catch a plane to D.C. on Sunday.

They will be one of more than 40 groups to take part in the parade.

The parade route winds from 7th to 17th streets between the White House and Washington Monument, past the famous Mall, and ends in sight of the Lincoln Memorial.

According to Ritthaler, band members have a full slate of activities planned, including visits to the Vietnam Memorial, Holocaust Museum, Iwo Jima Memorial, and the Smithsonian Museum.

In addition, the band will be invited along with other parade participants to sit on the lawn of the Capitol following the parade, listen to the National Symphony Orchestra and then watch a spectacular fireworks display. The band will also place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The band will return the following Sunday

Four hundred thousand people are expected to be on hand to watch the parade and it will be broadcast to approximately 35 million households.