PHOENIX – A group of Scottsdale students are ringing in the new year in a big way – performing in London with their school band.

Desert Mountain High School Symphonic Orchestra and Marching Band has been in England’s capital for a concert series and the city’s New Year’s Day Parade.

Parade organizers expected hundreds of thousands of spectators Tuesday and millions watching on television.

In a lead-in to the parade, the Valley school’s orchestra took to the stage at Cadogan Hall last Saturday, and played a medley from Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera,” a march by John Philip Souza and “Amazing Grace.”

The Thunderer by John Philip Souza – WOW!! Posted by Desert Mountain Band Boosters, Inc on Saturday, December 29, 2018

The band’s booster club posted photos of the trip so far and performances on Facebook.

The Marching Wolves aren’t strangers to trips across the pond. The band has been to London four other times, the Scottsdale Independent reported.

The trip cost $327,000 and was paid for through a combination of fundraisers and tax credits. The students began raising money since the invitation was extended in September 2017, according to the newspaper.

It hasn’t been all work for the band and director Michelle Irvin, who teaches music at the school.

The teens have visited Windsor Castle (Queen Elizabeth II’s weekend getaway site) and Oxford University while sightseeing.

About 10,000 performers were scheduled to participate in the parade, which began in 1987.

A live stream of the event was planned to start at 5 a.m. Arizona time.

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