Spirit of Troy performs at parade in China

The Trojan Marching Band performed in the Macau Chinese New Year’s Parade for the Year of the Monkey on Wednesday, making them the first American group to be invited to the event and the only college band in attendance.

The annual parade performed along Macau’s waterfront featured over one thousand performers from eight different countries, with televised broadcasts reaching more than 1 million viewers internationally. In addition to the parade, the Spirit of Troy performed at the historic Ruins of St. Paul, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For junior and trumpet section leader, Emily Moneymaker, the ability to travel both domestically and internationally is one of the many benefits of the TMB.

“I’ve gone on over 20 trips with the band and have had so many amazing and unique opportunities thanks to my involvement in the TMB that would never have been possible otherwise,” Moneymaker said. “The TMB is truly a life changing group, and I’m so thankful for all of the incredible memories I’ve made with the group.”

Senior and former trombone section leader Roger Brown also appreciates the many opportunities the TMB has provided him.

“This is my first international trip with the TMB, and my second international trip in general. I am extremely grateful to participate in this event,” Brown said. “I’ve been on over a dozen domestic trips with the band, many of them to places that weren’t originally on my travel radar, [such as] Macau.”

For many members of the TMB, the trip was an opportunity to meet individuals from all over the world, including Spain, Portugal, Japan, Korea, France and Malaysia. For junior computer science (games) major and crash cymbals player Robyn To, a major highlight of the trip was the cultural exchange.

“We [had a] practice from 4:30 p.m. to midnight with all the groups performing in the parade and it was awesome to meet so many people from different cultures,” To said.

Whenever the group travels abroad, they accept their roles as ambassadors for USC. For fifth-year senior and drum major Chase Wagoner, representing USC abroad evokes feelings of privilege and pride.

“I take pride in the TMB’s role as ambassadors to the rest of the world,” Wagoner said. “For the parade, we’re performing ‘Fight On!’ and a few of our rock charts … [which] are great representations of the band and act as cultural exchange between the band and our audience.”

The group was also able to enjoy the city of Macau during their week-long visit. With extravagant shopping malls and an abundance of casinos, Brown relished taking in the local flavor and culture of Macau.

“We had a number of free nights to explore [and we] looked around some of the casinos, ate Chinese and Portuguese food, saw popular sights and participated in other cultural activities,” Brown said. “On our free day, many of us took a ferry to Hong Kong to explore there too.”

While traveling and enjoying international cultures is a unique experience, many band members’ true love for the TMB stems from a different source.

“Travel is a fantastic part of the TMB … my favorite part is the passion and camaraderie,” Wagoner said. “Being part of a 300-strong group yelling their hearts out for our defense or singing our fight song beats any other experience I’ve ever had.”