Plainfield East Trumpeter to March in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC

It sounds like Mason is really excited, which makes me even more excited for him!

Mason Thulin is a senior from Plainfield East High School, and he will join about 200 other musicians invited from across the country to be a part of Macy’s Great American Marching Band. Mason will rep his school as they march through the Big Apple on Thanksgiving Day in the 96th marching of the annual tradition.

To apply, Thulin had to submit audition videos to showcase his musical and marching capabilities. “This is probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done,” Thulin said. “I’m just so proud that I was able to audition for such a prestigious band,” Thulin said.

While it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, it’s not a leisure trip! Members of the band will arrive in New York the Saturday before Thanksgiving and will have daily rehearsals leading up to the parade. Early on Thanksgiving morning, the band will travel to Herald Square for a pre-dawn dress rehearsal in front of the NBC cameras and then gather to line up for the start of the parade. They will then march 2.5 miles in front of 3 million spectators on the streets, and millions more watching at home.

The Band will play two songs including “Christmas Carols on Parade” for the NBC cameras and Three Dog Night’s version of “Joy to the World” for the parade route.

Thulin plans to major in aerospace engineering with the goal of one day working for a large aviation corporation.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC at 9 a.m. in all time zones.