GLENS FALLS — The four saxophones sitting in front of the kitchen counter are the first hint that the Pettis household is a little different.

“We have a fifth, but it’s for sale,” Pam Pettis said. “So it’s not here.”

Of the four saxophones, it’s the tenor sax that is taking center stage as J.R. and Pam Pettis’ son, Sean, prepares to march as part of the nationally selected Macy’s Great American Marching Band.

“I had to send an audition video, a letter and a resume sheet,” said Pettis, a 14-year-old freshman at Glens Falls High School who has been playing saxophone for five years. “I was really excited when I found out. I had friends over, and that was great.”

The trip is not simply focused on the Thanksgiving Day parade. The family will head to New York the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving, when Sean will meet with the organizers and the rest of the band members.

“We’re going to the 9/11 memorial, eat at B.B. King’s restaurant, see ‘Something Rotten’ on Broadway and spend a day in Times Square,” Sean said.

The band will also learn two songs and practice marching.