SVC WINS MARCHING HONORS : HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO STRUT IN BIG PARADE.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

On Wednesday morning, when people everywhere will be making New Year's resolutions to exercise and get in shape, several local teen-agers will begin 1997 with a brisk 5.5-mile walk.

They'll be the ones heading east down Colorado Boulevard, wearing bright red outfits and white plumed hats, following seven lovely young women with glittery crowns and rose bouquets.

The students from Canyon, Saugus and Valencia high schools will be marching in the 108th parade through Pasadena, as members of the Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band. The official host band of the flowery procession, the 215-musician PCC unit trails the float that carries the Rose Queen and her Royal Court.

Every year, PCC band officials hold auditions to select the most talented Southern California high school musicians to augment the college band for its biggest annual showcase.

Pasadena City College's marching instrumentalists have been the official Tournament of Roses band since the 1930 parade.

Local teens chosen for parade duty are trumpeter Frank Ebner of Canyon High School, drummer Ryan Peterson of Valencia High School, and several Saugus High School students: cymbals player Jim Barcliff, saxophonist Jeremy Bolin, drummer Chris Collier, clarinetist Sara Gilpin, sousaphonist Ken Miles, trumpeter Marc Zuber and his sister, clarinetist Erica Zuber, and color guard members Kandi Marks and Jennifer Holmes.

Collier said he's ready for his second straight Rose parade, even though, as a drummer, he'll have no rest through the entire 5-1/2-mile trek. During the breaks between songs, two things continue - the marching and the drummers' cadences, he said.

``Two and a half hours of nonstop drumming,'' Collier mused.

Last January, he, Barcliff and Peterson all played cymbals, which required occasional backward marching so percussionists could hit the cymbals with their drumsticks. ``My ears were trashed - but this year, earplugs galore,'' Collier said.

On Friday, honor band members spent a soggy day at Disneyland, where they were scheduled to play a few songs in ``a quick 15-minute march down Main Street,'' Collier said. ``It got canceled and rained out, so we didn't get to play.''

Saturday's itinerary included a five-hour rehearsal and an evening concert at Pasadena High School for a familiar sight around town during parade season - the Good Sam recreational vehicle club.

Monday at the Rose Bowl parking lot, the musicians will take part in the annual BandFest, a concert for family and friends.

Honor band auditions were held in October, and the musicians have been practicing every Sunday afternoon for several weeks. Daily rehearsals began when schools closed for the holidays.

Erica Zuber, drum major of the Saugus High band for two years, said she has enjoyed the challenge of playing music with college students. The 17-year-old senior will be marching near her 15-year-old brother Marc.

Parade veterans have told her that, even though the playing and marching is tiring, they will be buoyed by the ``exhilarating'' enthusiasm of spectators along the route, Erica said.

But what about staying warm in the early morning winter chill? ``There have been some interesting things that I wouldn't repeat about what you should wear under your uniform,'' she said.

Collier said percussionists have to endure the cold, even though numb fingers lose a little coordination and dexterity. ``Drummers can't wear gloves because the feel is different, and the sticks would fly out of your hand,'' he explained.

Ebner, a 17-year-old senior, said he has relished the honor band experience even though the rehearsal schedule has been ``grueling.''

``The marching has been pretty tough, but it's nothing I haven't experienced before,'' Ebner said. ``I love it so much that I don't think how far I'm marching. I'm having so much fun.''

The honor band's repertoire includes ``Everything's Coming Up Roses,'' ``When the Saints Go Marching In,'' ``Auld Lang Syne,'' a song from ``Mr. Holland's Opus,'' the fight songs of the 1997 Rose Bowl teams, Ohio State and Arizona State, and even the theme song from ``The Jetsons.''

``It's so nice to play with people who have a lot of talent, and it's nice to be in a big band like that,'' said Ebner, who is accustomed to the 69-member Canyon marching band. ``The first rehearsal when we first played, I was amazed at the sound. It was like playing with a bunch of professionals,'' he said.

His family will be watching the parade from bleacher seats in front of Pasadena City College - near the end of the route when he likely will need a little boost, Ebner said.

``It'll probably hit me after the parade: I just marched in front of millions of people,'' Ebner said. ``It's probably one of the best musical experiences of my life.''

The most important lesson Collier and Peterson learned from last year's parade was to let their parents drive them home, the Saugus High drummer said.

The teens had awakened before dawn, marched the long parade route, and were exhausted as they headed back to the Santa Clarita Valley. On Interstate 5, near Magic Mountain Parkway, Peterson's car ran off the road, Collier said.

``We were all asleep, including the driver. That's how tiring the parade is,'' Collier said.

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Photo

Photo: Saugus High School students chosen for the Tournament of Roses Honor Band and Color Guard are, front from left, Kandi Marks, Jennifer Holmes, Erica Zuber, Sara Gilpin and Chris Collier. In back: Jeremy Bolin, from left, Ken Miles, Marc Zuber and Jim Barcliff.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News