If you asked Sara Webb about music education, she would tell you it’s not just a subject in school. It’s her life.
Webb, co-band director at Hammond Creek Middle School, said her love for music has been able to take her many places, from her hometown in Connecticut to middle schools across Northwest Georgia — and even the Galápagos Islands. But there was one opportunity that was at the top of her bucket list: performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
In late November, Webb was able to mark that dream off the list when she marched through New York City as part of the Band Directors Marching Band, a collective of school band directors from across North America organized by the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation as part of its Saluting America’s Band Directors project.
“I think anybody that’s ever been in band has always wanted to march in the Macy’s parade because it’s such a big deal,” Webb said. “It’s an experience I will take with me for the rest of my life.”
Grateful for the opportunity
The Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, named after a prominent band leader whose bands performed in both the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the famous Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, numerous times, was founded by Sewell’s wife Karen after his passing in 2017.
In 2022, the Saluting America’s Band Directors project encouraged band directors from across the country to apply for an opportunity to perform in that year’s Rose Parade.
“At that time, my mom was going through cancer treatments and she would ultimately pass away, so that was not something that I was able to do,” said Webb, who began her third year at Hammond Creek this year. “A couple of months later, we were invited to apply for the Macy’s parade, so I jumped at that chance.”
Webb said there were close to 900 band directors from the U.S., Canada and Mexico who applied for a spot in the Band Directors Marching Band’s inaugural performance during the parade.
“And only 400 of us got accepted into the group,” she said.
After being accepted, Webb arrived in the “Big Apple” on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to begin rehearsals.
“That Sunday was our first rehearsal,” she said. “With marching bands in high school and college, they rehearse ahead of time and they know each other (beforehand). We had never even met each other before, so we had a Sunday rehearsal, then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we had outdoor rehearsals where we learned our drill and put our music together, and that was it. That’s all we had.”
Despite the short preparation time, Webb said everything jelled.
“It was really cool seeing all of these band directors who were all super nerdy like me come together and do this with maybe 10 hours of rehearsal max,” she said. “It’s crazy to see the impact that we have on kids all over the country; we’re able to see them follow through from when they’re 10 (years old) and picking up an instrument for the first time all the way to when they go to college auditions. We get really invested in their lives and it was cool to see all of us share that together.”
Fulfilling a dream
During the parade, which aired live on NBC at 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving day, the marching band performed early and was seen behind a float from the Broadway musical “Shucked” and a giant balloon of Snoopy, the beagle from the “Peanuts” series of comic strips and cartoons. The parade route, at two-and-a-half miles, began at Central Park and made its way down Sixth Avenue before stopping in front of the Macy’s department store, in Herald Square.
“I played the piccolo,” Webb said. “Flute is my instrument, so piccolo is kind of like the marching band version of the flute. Because my spot was in the very far right corner (of the band), I don’t think I ever made it to TV, but that wasn’t the point.”
The point, she said, was to fulfill a dream while shining a light on the importance of music education in schools and the marching band tradition that is ingrained in America.
As the parade progressed, Webb and the marching band performed a selection of songs, including “Seventy-Six Trombones,” a medley of John Philip Sousa marches and Aaron Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” which was heard during the televised portion of the performance.
“The band director, Jon Waters (of Bowling Green State University in Ohio), wanted the performance to embody the good that is happening in our band rooms and the tradition that band has been,” said Webb. “That’s why we played a lot of Sousa marches and important pieces of literature.”
Webb and her bandmates traded traditional marching attire for a sharp red blazer, navy dress pants and a red and black tie.
“The reason we didn’t wear marching band uniforms that you would traditionally see in college or high school was because he (Waters) didn’t want anything on our heads or covering our faces because we were ‘the face of music education in America,'” she said. “I thought that was very tasteful.”
Hammond Creek Principal Lauri Johnson said middle school staff and students were ecstatic to see Webb live out her dream.
“Being able to have a light shined on (Webb) when we already see her to be the amazing musician and teacher that she is just has been a really great experience for our kids and is a pride-point for our school,” said Johnson. “I know she had an amazing experience and I know that’s something her kids are going to benefit for years from seeing. She’s always looking for opportunities to extend her own learning and bring new ideas and new experiences to Hammond Creek and we’re all so proud of Sara.”
With the performance, Webb joins a select group of people from the area to participate in the parade, a list that includes three-time participant and Dalton High School graduate Laura Smith, Luke Cross and the 2019-20 Murray County High School dance team.
A moment to remember
While participating in the parade was “life-changing,” Webb said her experiences on the Monday before were even more fulfilling.
“On that day, the whole band performed at the (National September 11 Memorial),” she said. “We were the first performing group allowed to play on the grounds of the memorial and we had a wreath-laying ceremony for the first responders that lost their lives there before we toured the grounds. That was a deep day; it was very impactful and emotional. We played ‘Amazing Grace’ and I don’t think there was anybody in the band that had a dry eye. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
Webb said being able to represent Dalton and Hammond Creek Middle School was an amazing opportunity. Webb, who began her eighth year teaching middle school band overall this year, was part of the opening year of the school in 2021, when she was voted the school’s inaugural Teacher of the Year.
“Being able to help open Hammond Creek was a huge honor because very few people get to start at a school from scratch,” she said. “Being able to build a culture with the band program there was really cool. To represent who we are and what we do was a huge honor that I did not take lightly.”
Johnson said Webb has already had a tremendous impact on the school and its students.
“She is super enthusiastic, and the kids really respond well to her,” Johnson said. “She builds great relationships. We were able to hire a second band director (Taylor Mullis) because of the draw that (Webb) brought to the program. But her enthusiasm is what really sets her apart; she’s enjoyable to be around. She makes band fun, but also does a good job of teaching them (the students) the foundations, which is important if you want to have long-term musicians. She has a good blend of bringing those to the classroom.”
Spotlighting Dalton education
“Dalton supports our music programs really well, but it was really cool to see that they supported me as an individual, too,” Webb said. “(In New York) I was able to build connections with people from across the continent and talk about all of the awesome things that are happening here (in Dalton), even though we come from a smaller area compared to other districts represented (in the Band Directors Marching Band). It was cool to bring that to the table with all the other directors.”
Hammond Creek houses only sixth- and seventh-graders. Of the 1,100 students enrolled, “just under 400 of them are in band,” said Webb. “We’re able to provide that opportunity for any kid that’s interested and Dalton Public Schools has been great in supporting us financially.”
Webb said after the reconfiguration of Dalton schools with the opening of Hammond Creek and The Dalton Academy, Hammond Creek was given $200,000 to support the band program, which students will benefit from for years to come.
“That just covered the basics,” she said. “But this past year, they also gave us another $100,000 to fill in those gaps because we have so many kids. Part of that is supplying a fleet of beginner instruments, such as the flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone, that we have available to kids if they need them without any cost to them.”
While a trip to New York City could certainly cap off anyone’s career, Webb has no intentions of slowing down as she continues to teach her passion.
“I’m currently in Mississippi to conduct one of the Mississippi Bandmaster Association clinic bands, where I’ll also be presenting a clinic,” she said. “I’ll also present at the Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) In-Service Conference (in Athens) in January, where I also organize and host the GMEA District VII Clinic Honor Band each year.”