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Cal Poly Mustang Band in Chinese New Year Parade
Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025
5:15 p.m. San Francisco
The Cal Poly Mustang Marching Band has been invited for the 10th time to participate in the Alaska Airlines Chinese New Year Parade — named by the International Festivals and Events Association as one of the top 10 parades in the world — on Saturday, Feb. 15, in San Francisco.
The Mustang Band first performed along the 1.7-mile length of the Chinese New Year Parade in 2014 and was among 15 marching bands that participated. It has been awarded first place in the adult marching bands category multiple times, most recently in 2024. This year’s parade gets underway at 6 p.m.
The band’s more than 220 members, from academic disciplines across the campus and nearly all of Cal Poly’s six colleges, perform at nearly 50 campus events each year, including athletic games and university functions.
Cal Poly "Support Mustang Marching Band" crowdfunding for Mustang Band just announced! It's one of nine current crowdfunding projects. The selection of this project highlights the significant impact the Mustang Band has on the University, its students, and the broader SLO community. This initiative will enable the Mustang Band to flourish and continue to expand as our university transitions to semesters and year-round schooling in the coming years. Share, contribute and celebrate the incredible impact the Mustang Band has made on countless generations! Visit the crowdfund website for more information.
Before the parade, starting at 3 p.m., Mustang Band will continue the tradition of performing some of its favorite pep and postgame tunes with the UC Davis Marching Band in front of the landmark Ferry Building, the gateway to San Francisco, which is visited annually by millions of visitors, on The City’s Embarcadero.
The parade began in the 1860s as a means for the Chinese community to educate and share its culture with the greater community. Nothing like it had ever been done in their native China. The parade and festival have grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.
The Chinese New Year Parade will celebrate the Year of the Wood Snake with floats, dragon dancers and other festive entries. The event will be broadcast live on ABC 7 and streamed on Hulu. Search for the 2025 Chinese New Year Parade.
Cal Poly Wind Bands Winter Concert: Visions
Sunday, March 9, 2025
3 p.m., Performing Arts Center
Cal Poly’s Winter Wind Bands Concert will feature the Wind Ensemble and Wind Orchestra at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 9, in the Performing Arts Center.
Titled “Visions,” the concert is the second in the bands’ season series. “We’ve performed up and down the state of California this year, and we are excited to share our students’ achievements with our San Luis Obispo audience,” said Director of Bands Christopher J. Woodruff.
Musical works that engage the mind’s eye will be featured on the program, including Travis Cross’ “Let the Amen Sound,” Julie Giroux’s “One Life Beautiful” and Donald Grantham’s “Baron Cimetiere’s Mambo.”
Wind Ensemble saxophonists will perform on Armando Bayolo’s mixed chamber ensemble “In It Together.” Its unusual instrumentation is a result of composers’ global response to the needs of school bands and orchestras.
The entire Wind Ensemble will perform from John Williams’ score for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
A Wind Orchestra highlight will be Daniel Bukvich’s “Symphony No. 1, In Memoriam, Dresden, Germany 1945.” “It’s a work that has allowed the students to consider, through art, the experience of war,” said Associate Director of Bands Nicholas P. Waldron. “Using music to convey the tragedy and the intricate political landscape of the 1930s and 40s has enabled them to find an alternative means of expression when words frequently fall short.”
Tickets ($17 and $22 general, $12 students)
Cal Poly Wind Bands Spring Concert: Edifice
Sunday, June 8, 2024
3 p.m., Performing Arts Center
The Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble present a program that celebrates the art and craft of architecture, a discipline many of the bands’ students pursue at Cal Poly. Works programmed for this concert include “Dreams of an Architect” by Joshua Idio and “Angels in the Architecture” by Frank Ticheli.
Tickets ($17 and $22 general, $12 students)