SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) — One Rutherford County high school band spent weeks preparing to showcase their skills on the national stage, but the show nearly didn’t go on after an unexpected twist.
Stewarts Creek High School band director Michael Chester recalled getting the unexpected announcement Friday as he and his 160-member crew were preparing to leave for Monday’s presidential inauguration.
“We got the call that we had been taken out of the lineup and it was just a gut punch,” Chester said. “It was a very hard pill to swallow.”
The Red Hawks learned they had been cut from the parade, after the inauguration was moved indoors due to cold weather. After all their hard work practicing and raising $120,000, the band still decided to make the 11-hour trek.
“Our entire state came together to really support these students and this band and how much they support music and arts instruction and thought this was a worthwhile endeavor,” Chester said. “We thought about it and we thought, ‘You know what? we’re just going to bring the band anyway!’ We have non-refundable travel, so we can’t get it back.”
Everything turned around Monday morning after they learned their performance was back on.
“When we got the message, I started crying tears,” drum major Isabel Martinez said. “It was just so amazing to have that feeling of being able to be here and being able to perform.”
Chester thanked Tennessee’s members of Congress, who he said stepped up to make sure the Red Hawks could still perform.
“It almost feels like I’m in a dream or something,” Martinez added. “It’s surreal right now — just being here is crazy,” Martinez said.
State representative Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) helped nominate these students from his hometown of Smyrna. On Monday afternoon, he thanked the community for stepping up with donations to help make their trip possible.
“Who would have thought a small town like Smyrna — I think when I was born it was probably 8,000 people, 6,000 people — for us to be in D.C.,” Sparks said. “They’ll remember always remember this. They’ll be telling their grandkids this story when they’re sitting in a rocking chair one day.”
Band members will explore the nation’s capital Tuesday and head back to Middle Tennessee Wednesday .
