Former NIU marching band director heads to Pasadena for Rose Bowl parade

A former Northern Illinois University Marching Band director headed down to Pasadena, California to ring in the new year as part of a national group of band directors in a special float during the Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl Parade.

Michael Embrey, former Northern Illinois University Marching Band Director, was selected to join current and former band directors from across the country to be part of the first All-American Band Director’s Band. The band will make its first appearance on Jan. 1, 2022 in the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl Parade.

Embrey left DeKalb for California on Dec. 29.

“I am very excited to do this event,” Embrey said. “I will be part of the 270 piece band that will march in front of the ‘Float’. I will be playing 1st trumpet in the band.”

He said he’s one of the oldest members of the band, and also one of the few who was a marching band director at a university.

“That in itself is an honor,” Embrey said.

Embrey said he was greeted by pouring rain upon his arrival, so the band rehearsed indoors.

According to a news release, Embrey is a former member of the USAF Band/Drum & Bugle Corps. After his military duty, he played professionally before his role as marching band director at NIU. He continues to work in the music field as an arranger, show designer and producer. His company hosts a variety of student music festivals and competitions in the United States.

Embrey also performs at a variety of military events including military funerals and civic events. Embrey has also performed “Taps” at the American Cemetery in Normandy Beach, France in 2016.

The Rose Parade entry will celebrate the theme, “We teach music. We teach life.”

The float depicts a band director leading marching band students onto a football field, according to the release. In keeping with Rose Parade requirements, all of the visible parts of the float are of organic origin, including flowers, seeds and leaves. Standing on the large bass drum in the front are four directors: Janelle Guirerri, Tom Landes, James Swearingen, and Alfred Watkins.

Standing near the front of the float will be Karen Sewell, widow of the late Michael Sewell, who was a legendary director in Pickerington, Ohio, and whose example served as the inspiration for the project. Karen is president of the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, which is sponsoring our Rose Parade entry. Sitting in the bleachers in the back of the float will be several major donors who helped make the project possible.

According to a news release from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the all band directors marching band is a first for the event, and will “salute the exceptional instruction, character development, and inspiration provided by music educators everywhere,” the release states.

Collectively, the band members have mentored hundreds of thousands of students and have taught a total of 4,539 years. Among the group are seventy-six teachers of the year along with winners of other distinguished state and national awards. The band will be performing an original arrangement by Ohio music composer Lisa Galvin of Meredith Wilson’s “Seventy-Six Trombones”