The Hempfield Area Marching Band is being recognized by people across the world after the band performed Wednesday in London’s New Year’s Day Parade.
“We’ve received tons of messages from people all around the world, and even from many people stopping us on the street,” said band Director Brian Tychinski in an email Friday from England. “One British man wrote a poem about our performance. A person from Norway emailed me video he took of us.”
About 152 Hempfield students took to London’s streets on New Year’s Day, performing two songs from The Beatles — “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Drive My Car.” At the end of the 1 1/2-mile parade route, they played another Beatles’ song, “Lady Madonna.”
This year’s parade boasted over 10,000 participants from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and more, according the the parade’s website. A street audience of over 500,000 people was predicted prior to the event and officials hoped to reach the over 300 million television viewers they had in 2019.
The Hempfield students left for London on Dec. 28 and had the opportunity to see Windsor Castle, Oxford University, Greenwich, the Tower of London and more.
On Monday, the Hempfield Area High School Wind Ensemble performed in an annual concert series featuring 15 bands from the United States and two based in London. Following the New Year’s Day parade, members of the jazz band performed at a VIP reception.
“We’ve all had a wonderful time,” Tychinski said. “The parade was fantastic and we had wonderful performances by our wind ensemble and jazz band as well. We’ve spent the last two days sightseeing around the city.”
The band heads back to the states Saturday.
