A group of Overland Park teens are leaving the band room behind to play on one of the world's biggest stages.
"Marching with it is a lot of fun because big instrument, big attention" said 17-year-old Adam Billau, a Blue Valley North junior who plays the sousaphone.
When the Blue Valley North marching band hits the streets in less the 24 hours for the London New Year's Day Parade they'll march by some of the city's most iconic landmarks starting near Winston Churchill's statue and making their way all the way to famous Piccadilly.
In all, 10,000 performers from 20 countries will march, play, sing and dance in the parade.
"It's a very exciting to have this opportunity," said Ty Herdtner. "With that comes a little bit of anxiety," .
A year and a half ago, London News Year's Day Parade organizers asked the Blue Valley North High School marching band to cross the pond to play the two-mile route before a crowd of half a million spectators.
"I really hope they enjoy our performance," said Ty. "We put a lot of effort into this. I hope they see something that's unique."
Now, after months of fundraising a weeks of practice, their big moment is finally here.
"We are going to be marching a solid two miles-ish and when you are carrying a huge instrument like this, or if you're blowing your lungs out on a trumpet, you're going to get really tired," said Adam.
To prevent fatigue, the band spent the better part of the last six weeks marching hours in the high school parking lot.
"They've put in a lot of work to get this far and they can realize that hard work pays off into great memories like that in addition there's a great cultural education in getting to visit one of the most international cities in the world and a very historic city," said Daniel Freeman, the band director.
Where they'll help a crowd more populous than Kansas City's entirety ring in the New Year on the right note.
The parade goes down on Jan. 1, 2016 at noon, London time, which will be 6 a.m. in Kansas City.
You can watch the live stream online at the London New Year's Day Parade website.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
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