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A select group of Punahou School band members will say “’ello” to the new year and “cheerio” to the old when they participate in the 2012 London New Year’s Parade and Festival on Sunday.
The 160-student group, comprising students in grades 9-12, has been named the ceremonial band for the event, performing while dignitaries are being escorted to review stands along Piccadilly, a main street in London. The group will perform a medley of “Rule Britannia!” “America” and “Aloha ‘Oe,” according to a news release.
The parade’s website says the band “is dedicated to presenting challenging wind band literature, representative of the highest level of musical achievement in the wind band idiom.” The band also will appear in the festival’s concert series and perform at Cadogan Hall, home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
More than 10,000 performers were invited from 20 countries to appear in the 26th annual parade, which is considered the kickoff to Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee year as well as the Olympics. The students will get to tour the main historic sites of London and the surrounding region.
