A 15-year-old clarinet player from Orange Park is trading Clay County football fields for the streets of Manhattan this Thanksgiving. Brendan Bowens, a sophomore at Oakleaf High School, has been selected to perform with the Macy's Great American Marching Band at the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on November 26.
A Self-Taught Musician Lands a National Stage
Bowens will represent Oakleaf High School and the Clay County community on one of the country's biggest live stages, according to Action News Jax. He plays with Oakleaf's Golden Regiment Marching Band and Wind Ensemble, directed by Kayla Lemak, and also studies at Lakeside School of Music. The Macy's Great American Marching Band is an elite all-star ensemble, created in 2006 for the parade's 80th anniversary, that draws roughly 185 to 225 top high school musicians, color guard members, and dancers chosen by audition from all 50 states, according to FloMarching.
Getting picked required more than talent alone. Applicants complete a competitive process that includes submitting video auditions showing both solo musical technique and marching fundamentals, per the same account. The honor band has been led since its founding by Dr. Rick Good, Director of Bands at Auburn University, who helped co-create the national program with Macy's parade leadership.
Five Years of Self-Taught Practice
Bowens began playing clarinet five years ago, teaching himself using instructional videos before he ever had formal lessons, the outlet reports. He studied composers and learned to read music independently, skills that eventually caught the attention of instructors at Lakeside School of Music. Kimberly Corzine, his instructor there, praised his commitment to musical development and said she is proud of his hard work and dedication.
That dedication has already paid off locally. Bowens earned third place at the 2025 Clay County Concert on the Green, an annual community benefit established in 1987 that has awarded more than $400,000 in music and visual art scholarships and grants to local students, according to Clay Today. He also received the Quincy Jones Award for contribution and creativity in music, was named a featured soloist at the Lakeside School of Music recital in 2025, and has been selected as a Clay County All-County clarinetist every year from 2024 through 2026.
Balancing Honors Classes With Big Ambitions
Bowens maintains a 3.5 GPA while taking honors classes, and he hopes to become the first member of his family to earn a college degree, aiming for chemical engineering. He said music allows him to express emotion and connect with others meaningfully, and that being chosen for the parade shows that hard work and self-belief pay off.
Oakleaf's Golden Regiment gives Bowens a strong foundation to build on. The Class 4A ensemble in Clay County has twice earned state runner-up honors at the Florida Marching Band Championships, per Clay Today, and the school's broader music program includes three concert ensembles, two jazz bands, an AA-class Winterguard, and an Indoor Percussion ensemble alongside the marching band, according to Oakleaf High School.
A Historic Parade and a Fundraising Push
This year's parade carries extra significance. The November 26 event marks the 100th actual march in the celebration's history, following three wartime cancellations from 1942 through 1944 due to World War II material shortages, according to My Christmas in New York. The 2.5-mile route through Manhattan to Herald Square draws an estimated 3.5 million live spectators and tens of millions of television and streaming viewers nationwide, per a guide on marching bands in Thanksgiving parades. Bands selected for the parade perform across two segments, marching the full route and then delivering a dedicated televised routine in front of Macy's Herald Square store, as Hoodline has reported.
The honor comes with real costs attached. Sponsorships and donations will need to cover travel, lodging, uniform costs, and performance materials, and Bowens is seeking local corporate sponsorships and community donations to help get him to New York. Local businesses can contact Fannie Alford Bowens at 516-425-2485 or by email at [email protected], and community members can also contribute through an online GoFundMe campaign, according to Action News Jax.
