Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will guest conduct the Trojan Marching Band and 1,400 participants in its High School Band Day in a rendition of “I Love L.A.” at halftime of Saturday’s game against Oregon State.
Garcetti plans to take the field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of a celebration of Los Angeles being awarded the 2028 Olympics and the recent opening of USC Village, a $700 million development that combines housing for 2,500 students with ground-floor retail businesses and restaurants open to the public.
The Trojan Marching Band serenaded Garcetti with the Randy Newman song at his second inauguration on July 1. It was the first time the band had performed at a mayoral inauguration. Garcetti will be the first mayor of Los Angeles to guest conduct the band.
Garcetti is an accomplished pianist and played jazz piano on the steps of City Hall in April as part of an elaborate celebration of the film “La La Land.”
Students from 14 high schools will participate in “High School Band Day,” a tradition dating to the 1940s where high school school students get to perform with the Trojan Marching Band at a USC football game.
Previous guest conductors for USC’s High School Band Day include Steve Allen, Robert Zemeckis and Elmer Bernstein.
—City News Service