ROSES IN MUSICIANS' FUTURE AREA PLAYERS TO MARCH IN PARADE.

Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Eight high school students from the Antelope Valley will be marching Tuesday in the Rose Parade, part of a Southern California honor band.

After passing a highly selective audition, Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band's 170 high school members have put in more than 60 hours' practice, marched 20 miles or so around the outside of Dodger Stadium and done three performances to be ready for the parade.

``It's fun because you get to meet new people, but it's a lot of hard work,'' said 15-year-old Eryk Escobar, a sophomore at Antelope Valley High School and member of the color guard.

Color guard member Sharisse Deal, a Quartz Hill High School sophomore, is a little worried about the 5.5-mile march Tuesday.

``I'm gonna buy Dr. Scholl's,'' she said.

But Sharisse, 15, said preparing for her first Rose Parade has been worth it.

``It's pretty fun, the practicing and stuff. It was kind of hard at first, but it gets more fun. I think a lot of it is getting to meet new people and just getting to march in the Rose Parade - that's pretty cool.''

Her mother, Rhonda Deal, is so excited about her daughter's performance that she is organizing friends and family to videotape all the different television Rose Parade broadcasts.

``I think there are 22 different channels,'' Rhonda said.

The practices require hard work on the part of the teen-agers, but it also requires a large commitment on the part of the parents.

They had to make sure that their children made it to Pasadena for 10 rehearsals and to the three performances.

On New Year's Day, the band members must be at the parade route by 5 a.m.

``It's exciting, it'll be one of those life experiences you'll never forget,'' said Rhonda, who usually stays in the area shopping or takes in a movie while her daughter practices.

Lancaster High School sophomore Shannon Howell, who will play the mellophone in the parade, sees future benefits in her participation.

``It's really going to help me in my college applications and help me get the scholarships I need to go to college,'' Shannon said.

Like Sharisse, she is concerned about the length of the parade route.

``It's going to be really difficult. It's hard to march 3 (miles). I'm going to be dead by the end of the 6-mile thing,'' Shannon said.

Other Antelope Valley teens participating in the honor band this year include Kevin Rasch, 17, who plays tuba. He is a junior at Lancaster High School, where he plays the tuba with the Lancaster High School Eagle Corps and the trombone in the jazz band. This is his second trip to Pasadena as a member of the honor band.

Littlerock High School senior John Sanders will march with the honor band's color guard. At Littlerock High School he has been in winter guard and color guard for four years.

Joseph Webb, also a senior at Littlerock High School, will play trombone.

Flutist Diego Omar Garcia, 16, is a junior at Littlerock High School and has been a member of the district honor band for six consecutive years.

Jayson Sanders, no relation to John, will play the trumpet. He is a junior at Littlerock High School.

This is the 73rd time that the Pasadena City College Honor Band will be marching in the Rose Parade. California high school students are invited each year to audition for a spot performing with members of the Pasadena City College Lancer Marching Band.

After being accepted into the band, the students must enroll in Pasadena City College's music program. They will earn two college credits after completion of the program.

The band has 250 members - 80 from the college band and 170 high school students. Some 700 auditioned, said Alyson McLamore, one of two band directors.

For the parade, the band will play four songs: ``Everything's Coming Up Roses''; ``Sing, Sing, Sing''; the march ``Semper Fidelis''; and a medley of ``This Land Is Your Land,'' ``God Bless America'' and ``America the Beautiful.''

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(color) Antelope Valley band members Diego Omar Garcia, Jayson Sanders, Sharisse Deal, John Sanders, Eryk Escobar, Shannon Howell, Kevin Sanders and Joseph Webb will play in the Tournament of Roses parade Tuesday.