Santa Maria High School band director headed to Pasadena for New Year's
Dec. 22—A local musician and teacher will join nearly 300 others to perform in a marching band during the 2022 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day.
Santa Maria High School band director Samantha Quart will be among the throng of band directors from all 50 states and Mexico as part of the Saluting America's Band Directors project, a school spokesman said.
Quart, who said she's excited to perform in front of an international audience, will play the tuba in the Band Directors Marching Band that will entertain the crowd along the parade route with well-known music and an animated float, spokesman Kenny Klein said.
Quart has been the SMHS band director since 2016 and waiting for the event for more than a year. It was originally planned for the 2021 Rose Parade but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the school's band director, Quart oversees all aspects of the music education program, including the jazz band, music history and music theory classes.
While attending Central Michigan University, she played tenor saxophone with the 6th Man Band at the university's men's and women's basketball games.
The Saluting America's Band Directors project was founded to recognize the exceptional instruction, character development and inspiration provided by music educators everywhere, Klein said.
