Submitted by Mallory Legman
(December 1, 2025) — Mallory Legman, a band director at Haddam-Killingworth High School, has been selected to join a marching band of more than 300 band directors from across North America in the Pasadena Rose Parade® on January 1, 2026. The band will accompany a colorful, animated float along the 5.5-mile parade route.
The “Saluting America’s Band Directors” parade entry will convey the theme “America’s Band Directors: We Teach Music. We Teach Life,” to recognize 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 conduct music, they teach about life itself.
Legman will be playing piccolo, which is like a small flute, in the parade. She says, “It is an honor and a privilege to participate in this parade. I love seeing how music creates community, and I am excited to connect with the other band directors who are participating and share our music on a national level.”
The band will be directed by nationally known music educator and innovative band director Jon Waters, who will also lead rehearsals and other performances of the band when in Pasadena.
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 Mike Sewell, who dedicated his life to school and community music programs in Pickerington and in the Central Ohio area for almost forty years.
Photo provided by Mallory Legman
