Buckeye Local High School music educator Stacey Soos.

CONNORVILLE — Buckeye Local High School music educator Stacey Soos will make an appearance during the 137th-annual Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year’s Day. The popular event is part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and is being presented by Honda, while it will be televised prior to the Rose Bowl college football game.

Soos will join the Band Directors Marching Band for the procession on Jan. 1. The band was formed by the Salute to America’s Band Director’s Project and is sponsored through the Michael D. Sewell Foundation, the latter formed in honor of a longtime band director for Pickerington Schools in Ohio who unexpectedly died in 2017. During his career, Sewell’s band attended the Rose Parade four times and he was well-known for his contributions to music education and community service throughout his city and the Central Ohio area.

“Currently there are approximately 350 band directors from the United States, Mexico, Canada and Panama,” Soos said, adding that the parade is typically two hours long and follows a 5-mile route.

She has been a music educator for 22 years and has spent two decades at Buckeye Local, beginning as an elementary music teacher and is currently in her 12th year as junior high band director, high school assistant band director and general music teacher. She became involved with the national parade after learning about the activity through colleagues and said she was eager to take part.

“I learned of the Band Directors Marching Band when other area band directors from the Ohio Valley attended the parade in 2022 and was interested in becoming involved,” she continued. “I applied after the news of the 2026 performance was announced.”

She will arrive in Los Angeles on Dec. 28 and attend daily practices to perfect the group’s sound for the big day. She also will perform at Band Fest, a venue that features marching bands participating in the parade, as well as a Service Through Music event, then float judging and the parade. The Band Directors Marching Band first performed for the Rose Parade in 2022 and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 2023, making this their third performance.

The theme for the 2026 Rose Parade is “The Magic in Teamwork,” and Soos noted that the band entry was unique because it includes a float and a band performance. The theme for Salute to America’s Band Directors is “America’s Band Directors: We Teach Music, We Teach Life,” and the float entry is entitled “Banding Together.”

“It features a band of four musicians who are also active in other activities. Through ‘The Magic of Teamwork,’ they create inspiring music together,” she explained.

Soos is excited to participate and said it will be an amazing experience.

“I am looking forward to meeting, working with and learning from band directors from other parts of the country,” she said. “I am extremely excited and honored to represent my students, the Buckeye Local School District and the Buckeye Local community in the 2026 Rose Parade. I am thankful for the support I have received from Buckeye Local Schools and the community, and I hope to make them proud. “