Wantagh High School Junior Kept the Beat in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Wantagh High School junior Jarod Sullivan was one of 11 New York State student-musicians who marched in the 258-member Macy’s Great American Marching Band on Thanksgiving Day. He was selected from a video audition and was asked to play the cymbals.

“I saw the city through different eyes,” Sullivan said. “It was great seeing all of the people lined up on the side of the streets and to meet so many new people from across the country.”

The Macy’s Great American Marching Band is directed by Auburn University’s Dr. Richard Good and is hosted by Music Festivals. The band is comprised of students in grades 9 through 12 and marches annually in front of the New York Police Department Highway Patrol motorcycle escort. Students who have been selected are also invited to march annually until high school graduation.

Sullivan is a member of Wantagh High School’s marching band, wind ensemble, jazz band and pep band. He also toured with the Long Island-based Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corp along the Northeast region last summer. He intends on pursuing a music industry major in college so that he can work in the music merchandising industry.

Photo: Wantagh School District