For the first time in more than 20 years, rain is predicted for the 137th Tournament of Roses Parade on Thursday, but that won’t dampen the spirits of two Carlsbad brothers who will be marching.
Sem and Tore Parker are part of the Bands of America National Honor Band, a 300-piece ensemble of high school musicians and color guard.
Growing up, music has always been a large part of the Parker brothers’ lives.
“I’ve played trumpet for eight years,” 17-year-old Sem Parker said.
“I’ve been playing the flute for 6 years,” 15-year-old Tore Parker said.
The Parker brothers are part of the La Costa Canyon High School marching band. To be part of the Honor Band, they needed a recommendation letter from their band director, Charles Mekealian.
Mekealian was happy to recommend them. He said the brothers are high achievers and great musicians.
“They were like, ‘Hey, we're gonna audition, we're gonna submit an application for the Rose Bowl band,’ and I was like, ‘Great.’" he said. "I've done it a few times myself when I was in the Marine Corps, and I thought that would be a great experience for them.”
Sem Parker got a spot in the band first.
“I was really, really hyped because, you know, this is a huge, huge part of the Southern California tradition, really American tradition,” he said.
Tore Parker was wait-listed. It wasn’t until October that Tore found out he, too, was going to be part of the band. And that sparked a little friendly sibling rivalry.
“Yeah, I like pretending that I'm better than him," Tore said. "And he also was excited to have his own little thing. And I did feel a little bad for intruding on that.”
Their father, Joakim Parker, a retired diplomat with the U.S. Agency for International Development and also a musician, said that sibling rivalry was always good-natured. The boys are best friends and always support each other.
"There is, I think, always a rivalry between siblings," Joakim Parker said. "We're blessed in their case because they're essentially best friends.... Sem is the older one that I think got in first, partly because he has more experience."
For Sem, the Rose Bowl parade is the culmination of his high school band career. For Tore, it’s the last chance for him to play with his brother in marching band.
“I can’t wait to do it with this guy,” Tore Parker said.
“They've definitely been all-stars in their time here with me, at La Costa Canyon High School,” Mekealian said.
Composer and Honor Band director Richard Saucedo says the goal of Honor Band is to showcase students and make them better musicians.
“The leadership part of it is very important also, to learn to get along with people that you've never met before," he said. "To work together with people that you've never met before within three or four days and do a major performance on TV — for national TV and international TV.”
The Parker brothers have been in Pasadena practicing with their bandmates since Dec. 27. They are counting on their sibling rivalry to push each other to be better musicians.
“Part of the reason I'm in the parade, and part of the reason Tore is in the parade is because, you know, we have each other," Sem Parker said. "We're constantly pushing each other in our practice sessions to get better, play faster, play harder, play softer, play nicer.”
That pairs well with this year’s parade theme, “The Magic in Teamwork.''
The Rose Parade steps off at 8 a.m. Thursday.
