PORTLAND, Maine - The high school band from the small Aroostook County town of Madawaska will play at the presidential inauguration celebration.
According to a press release, Madawaska Middle-High School's "Pride of Madawaska" is one of only 12 ensembles across the country selected to perform at the welcome concert on Thursday, January 19.
School Principal Wayne Anderson says for the school of 224 students it's a big deal.
"This is our forte," he says. "Every school has its forte - some schools have drama, some it's speech clubs or what have you. But for us it's always been our marching band, and even though we're smaller than we have been in many years, we still make some big noise for a small band."
The band is made up of 27 students. Anderson says the band's boosters group is fundraising to pay for the costs of the trip. And, he says, in a year in which the presidential inauguration is unusually controversial, the school is viewing the trip to Washington, D.C. as educational, not political.