The Greendale High School Marching Band will perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

With the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade around the corner, excitement, nerves and music were everywhere as students in the Greendale High School Marching Band prepared for the big day at the schools' stadium.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was invited to attend a preview of the band's performance Thursday, Nov. 16, at the high school's football stadium.

The 19-time state champion marching band will perform in the famous parade on Thursday, Nov. 23, in New York City. The Greendale Marching Band is one of just six high school bands performing in the parade, according to Liz Parsons, one of the Greendale High School band directors.

The 200-plus member band will be representing the Village of Greendale, Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin in the parade. The band last appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2016.

In addition to marching in the parade, NBC will be featuring the Greendale band in the network's Countdown to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade special that airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, Greendale High School has announced. About half of the band members will be featured. Band directors are working on who will be chosen.

Ben Wimmer, a center snare drummer who was inspired by his brother marching in the band in 2018, noted his anticipation about the parade.

"I'm pretty nervous now that it's leading up. It's starting to feel a little more real every day that we get closer to the event," said Wimmer. "I think just the amount of effort that I see everyone put in collectively really drives me to be better myself."

Wimmer noted despite the nerves, he was the most excited to have his mother and a television audience of over 45 million people watch him perform.

Last year, the school announced they accepted the invitation to march in the prestigious parade.

Since that April 2022 announcement, Director of Bands Tom Reifenberg said it's been an "18-month journey" for the kids, but now it's time to buckle down and get to work.

"You have juniors and seniors that are still in the band, but they're graduating, so they’re not involved. But then you had to go all the way down to seventh graders, because seventh graders at that time are now freshmen. So to them, it's like they're in middle school ― but now it's like you're going to be on in front of 45 million people in a year and a half."

Reifenberg noted over the last 18 months there has been a lot of fundraising and community events organized by parents to ensure all band members could travel to New York City regardless of financial needs.

While the students are excited for the big day, reality is kicking in that the performance is around the corner.

"I'm kind of nervous. Just not even for myself, but just for everyone, as a whole," said Lauren Mabbott, one of the color guard captains. "I just really hope that it goes as planned and we don't mess anything up, and we show the world what Greendale can do."

Mabbott has a background in dance. She knew she wanted to join the Greendale High School Marching Band because of the opportunities it would bring her.

The road to the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade has not been easy for the students.

"Oh, my gosh. It's been incredible," Parsons said. "They're coming off of a fall field show, marching band, competition season, and then right when state is done, we transitioned into Macy's prep.

"So a couple of days after their state competition, we learned the music and the new drill and just have had lots of weekly rehearsals and in-class rehearsals preparing for Thanksgiving."

Despite the nervousness, the students are excited to perform for over 45 million people across the world.

"I think I'm really excited to see all of the audience and seeing their reactions and just feeling the happiness that they have towards us and watching us and everything," Mabbott said.

The GHS Marching Band had its final tune-up performance for the big day on Saturday, Nov. 18. This was the band's final practice before the big moment.

The 97th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will be at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 23 on NBC. It's not known exactly what time the Greendale band will appear.

For more information on the Greendale High School Marching Band visit their website at GreendaleBand.com.

Contact Adrienne Davis at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.