An event that took a year to plan and which hasn’t happened in four decades went off without a hitch Monday as 80 members of the Los Alamitos High School marching band, supported by approximately 10 recent graduates, marched and played music through the streets of London on New Year’s Day.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” band director Tom Plunkett told the News Enterprise shortly after the parade ended in London. The New Year’s Day parade in the city of London has a tradition and global audience that compares to the Rose Parade in the USA.
Plunkett said about 600,000 people lined the streets of London to see the parade, and the potential television audience of 300 million was jumped to 600 million when Chinese networks were added at the last minute.
“The reaction has been tremendous,” Plunkett said from London, “we’re getting a lot of positive feedback.”
The Los Al band appeared toward the rear of the parade, said Plunkett, because the band was one of only five selected to perform for a VIP audience seated in a special sections along the route.
Earlier in the day, the band began the day by appearing on an interview show hosted by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) and then followed that with an appearance on a similar Sky News show. “It was a long day,” he added.
Plunkett said the trip had, thus far, been full of insight and highlights. One of those highlights had occurred earlier in the week when the band was honored to perform a concert in the famous St. John’s Concert Hall at Smith square.
Today, St. John’s is a well known concert venue for classical music but its heritage dates back to 1713 when Queen Anne commissioned its construction. As legend has it, when the architect asked her Majesty, the Queen, how the church should look, the royal kicked over her footstool and said “like that.” So the church, when completed in 1738, had four towers rising at each corner.
During World War II, the church was bombed but was saved and sold to a nonprofit group that restored it to what it is today. “It was a highlight for me and I know a highlight for each of the band members who enjoyed the honor to perform there.”
Plunkett said the London invitation came with the help of a few standout band members who had graduated last year. They assisted in getting the Los Al band before a selection committee and those recent graduates traveled to London to perform with the band.
Once selected, the band spent a significant amount of time raising the money and resources they would need to make the trip. “The community really stepped up,” said Plunkett, adding that contributions came from local businesses, individuals, alumni and others. The Los Alamitos Educational Foundation made a significant contribution, he added.
Participants were responsible for a certain amount of their own individual expenses, said Plunkett, who said he was truly gratified by the number of “angels” who contributed to an “angel fund” to assist those who simply could not afford the trip.
Tuesday, the band members were expected to have a full day to themselves (with chaperones). “They’ve been learning to get around on the London Underground Tube. Plunkett said “I hope they enjoy it. They’ve earned it.”
Not since the early 1980’s has Los Alamitos High School appeared in the famed New Year’s Day parade.
