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Valley Band Plays Macy's Parade

Sometimes it’s good to stand out. That’s how Mountain View High School marching band director Scott Burgener thinks his students earned a spot in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Mesa students auditioned three times before finally landing the coveted spot.

Burgener said they added many non-traditional elements to their audition, including different poses, dance moves and a twirler. The parade is a huge deal for the band, he added.

“I think that they’re a little nervous, just because the audience is – locally, there’s about three to five million people on the streets watching, and then when it gets broadcast on TV it goes to about 50 million people,” Burgener said.

He said this holiday tradition puts all of Arizona in the spotlight. This marks only the fourth time a band from the state has made it into the iconic parade.

Stina Sieg was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2013 to 2018.