03 Dec 2023 Floating on air

Lavonne Riggins, a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Central Arkansas, was selected to join 400 band directors who marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Following its inaugural appearance in the 2022 Rose Parade^®, the Saluting America’s Band Directors project brought together directors from across the country under the theme “America’s Band Directors: We Teach Music. We Teach Life.”

Riggins completed her bachelor’s in music education in 2020 and is a first-year master’s student earning a degree in instrumental conducting. Last July, she applied to march in the parade. Band directors from around the U.S. and Mexico applied for the honor, and about 400 were chosen. Riggins is one of two members who represented Arkansas, played the piccolo.

“I am super excited and honored to have been chosen,” she said. “I watch this parade with my family every single year, so it was really exciting to be there in person.”

Their parade entry recognized the extraordinary dedication and accomplishments of band directors and music educators everywhere. Throughout their careers, the music educators in this band have collectively mentored and taught hundreds of thousands of students. These professionals not only teach and direct music, they also teach about life itself.

The band was directed by nationally known music educator and innovative band director Jon Waters. The sponsoring organization behind the Saluting America’s Band Directors project is the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, based in Pickerington, Ohio. The foundation was created to recognize and carry on the work of the late Sewell, who dedicated his life to the school and community music programs in Pickerington and the Central Ohio area for almost 40 years.