Southern Boone High School band director marches in the 2026 Rose Parade
Meghan Drakas
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
On the first day of the 2026, the Southern Boone High School and Middle School Director of Bands spent the day representing Mid-Missouri at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Band director T.J. Higgins said he was selected in a nomination process to march in a group of 350 band directors from across the nation. According to the Southern Boone School District, The Band Directors Marching Band is part of the Saluting America’s Band Directors project.
The school district said The Band Directors Marching Band is sponsored by the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation. The foundation honors the late Mike Sewell, who dedicated nearly 40 years to school and community music programs in central Ohio.
“We had all 50 states along with Canada, Mexico and I believe it was Panama, represented in the group,” Higgins said. “Being one of the representatives of Missouri and representing Southern Boone is a great honor to be in this prestigious event.”
Higgins told ABC 17 News on Thursday, he was one of 11 people from Missouri in the group and said this was the second time he’s participated in the Rose Parade. He said the first time was in 2022.
“It’s just been great showcasing music, education and band directors around the world,” Higgins said. “The fact that we’re all working together is a great thing to represent music education.”
This year, the project had a theme of “America’s Band Directors: We teach music. We teach life.”