Marching at Macy's: RSU 21 band director to perform in iconic Thanksgiving parade

KENNEBUNK, Maine — For most people, performing in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And to be sure, that’s what it will be when Laurie Ellis, the band director at the Middle School of the Kennebunks, marches alongside her fellow musicians on that famous stretch of 34th Street on Thanksgiving morning next week.

But for Ellis, her appearance in the NYC parade will be something else too: the completion of what she calls “the trifecta.”

In high school, Ellis marched with the Temple Band of New Hampshire in the Fourth of July Parade in Washington, D.C. In 1987, she was one of 50 college-level herald trumpeters who joined the United Way’s Centennial Anniversary Marching Band in the Rose Bowl Parade in California.

Now, Macy’s makes the third big parade in which she has marched.

Ellis is one of two Maine band leaders who will be performing in the Band Directors Marching Band, courtesy of the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation’s “Saluting America’s Band Directors” project. Jen Fletcher, an elementary school band teacher in South Portland, is the second band leader. More than 400 band leaders from around the country are expected to join the parade alongside Ellis and Fletcher.

The foundation was formed in 2017 to carry on the legacy of its namesake, who was the longtime band director for the school system in Pickerington, Ohio. For its mission, the foundation finds ways to honor and salute band directors from everywhere – public and private schools, colleges and universities, military branches and communities.

Ellis applied to join the marching band in the 2023 Macy’s Day Parade a couple of summers ago. In her application, Ellis explained that she shared a few similarities with the late Sewell. Like him, she has spent all of her 36-year career at the same school where she started as a teacher straight out of college. In fact, Ellis said, she even completed her student teaching at the Middle School of the Kennebunks in the late 1980s.

“I’ve stayed here and raised my family here and have gotten to work with tons of families,” said Ellis, who has two grown sons. “I’m at the point of my career where most of the people in my audience at concerts are former students.”

Ellis will be in New York City days before the parade, as she and the Band Directors Marching Band also will perform “Amazing Grace” at the Sept. 11 Memorial in lower Manhattan on Nov. 20.

Ellis, who is humble and publicity-shy, came to the attention of the Coast Star through her husband, Scott, who could not be prouder of his wife. Both Ellises love music and have dedicated much of their lives to it.

Scott said music connects people and even offered proof.

“It’s how Laurie and I met at UNH – in marching band!” he said in an email.

Ellis has spent the past four months preparing, memorizing music, and practicing for her performance with the Band Directors Marching Band on Thanksgiving. Friends, family members and former students all have stepped forward with their support and encouragement.

“I’ve heard from former students who are now in their 40s,” Ellis said. “It has been fun.”

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A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Thanksgiving

Ellis grew up in Amherst, New Hampshire. When she joined band class in the fourth grade, her parents figured it was just a whim – something their daughter was taking up because that was what other kids were doing. Ellis was one of four children, however, and her parents could not afford to purchase an instrument.

Not a problem. Ellis said her babysitter, who lived next door, said her brother had an old trumpet somewhere in the house, maybe in his closet or up in the attic. Ellis took the trumpet – an “old clunker,” she called it – and, well, has been playing the instrument ever since.

Not that she knew she would grow up to become a band leader at a middle school. Rather, Ellis, an athlete, wanted to become a physical education teacher when she was in high school. When she was cut from the basketball team during her senior year, however, she concluded, as perhaps any teenager might do, that she would not “make a very good phys. ed teacher.”

Her mentor, Mr. Recchia, the high school’s chorus teacher, told her that of course she could still become a teacher.

“If you’re really thinking you can’t be a phys. ed teacher, then just go into music,” he told her. “I’ll help you get there.”

Being a band director is just like coaching, Mr. Recchia told her. You’re just coaching a different group of kids, that’s all.

“And there’s no bench,” he added. “Everyone gets to play, and it’s your responsibility to make sure everybody feels good about their part.”

For Ellis, those became words to live by. Just ask Marty Bouchard, the principal of the Middle School of the Kennebunks. Bouchard said the students and staff are very happy for Ellis to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on Thanksgiving. He noted that Ellis has dedicated tens of thousands of hours to working with students and music during the past few decades.

“Her dedication to music excellence and the overall well-being of each student at our school is well known, not only in the RSU 21 communities, but the entire state,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard added that he, the students and staff wish Ellis the best of luck when she marches in the Macy’s parade.

“We cannot wait to tune in to watch her marching and playing in this iconic event,” he said.

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When to watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Those who also want to tune in on Thanksgiving morning should do so right when the parade starts on NBC at 9 a.m. According to Ellis, the Band Directors Marching Band will appear early in the broadcast. In fact, when you see the Snoopy balloon floating high above the street, keep your eyes peeled: Ellis and her bandmates will be marching right on the heels of Charlie Brown’s beloved beagle.

And while her role in next week’s parade is a high-profile achievement – and one that completes that trifecta, no less – it will be just one moment in a career in which, day by day, Ellis has been able to shape and inspire young musicians for decades.

Said Ellis, “To know that I’ve worked with generations of families – that’s the big thing.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Marching at Macy's: RSU 21 band director to be in Thanksgiving parade