Shrewsbury – The University of Massachusetts Marching Band, which includes 24 members from Worcester County and three from Shrewsbury, has been chosen to march in this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
While the band has marched in three Presidential Inaugural Parades, this year marks their first appearance in the Macy's event, which is broadcast all over the world.
With nearly 400 members, the UMass Marching Band is the largest collegiate marching band in the northeast and has had the honor of winning the Sudler Trophy, which is the highest honor a college marching band can receive.
Band members hail from 18 states and three countries.
On the morning of the parade, the band will rise at 2:30 a.m. and assemble to rehearse at 4 a.m. for NBC in front of the Macy's store.
The band will be lining up at 7:45 a.m. Thanksgiving morning to begin the parade, marching down the streets of Manhattan playing a repertoire including the school's fight song, “Roll Down the Field,” “God Bless America,” and a Boston favorite: “Sweet Caroline” in honor of the Red Sox World Series champions this year.
At the Macy's Star, the band will be performing a favorite tune, “Big Noise from Winnetka,” which has been traditionally played at the end of every basketball game since the mid-1980s by the hoop band. The band is anticipated to be on television at 11:24 a.m. as they move across the Macy's Star.