Cedar Hill High School

Local Businessman, Philanthropist Gives Thousands to Local High School Bands

NBCUniversal, Inc.

North Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist Roland Parrish got super creative when he wanted to do something good for local high school band programs.

“This started after I went to a football game between Skyline and Duncanville. I’ve been very involved with Dallas ISD and I know that most of their extracurriculars would gladly take a boost in their treasury," Parrish said. "So I thought it would be great to give a contribution to various bands. So that lead to the discussion with my team about hosting a battle of the bands."

Generally, only the winner of such a contest would get the prize money, but Parrish had other plans.

“Ten days prior to the event, we sent $5,000 cashier checks to all 10 schools, before we even knew who was going to win the competition. So whether the event was going to be canceled or not because of the pandemic, we were going to still give them the money,” Parrish said.

The Cedar Hill High School Red Army Marching Band won the competition and took home the title in the inaugural Roland Parrish Band Competition.

“The difference was attention to detail,” Cedar Hill Band Director Derrick Walker said. "We have a system in place where we know what we want and when we want it. Other teams are still trying to develop that within their band programs."

The theme of the show for Cedar Hill was "A Tribute To The Jackson Family." The Red Army Band performed "That's The Way Love Goes" - the 1993 Janet Jackson song - and a Michael Jackson Medley.

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In addition to winning the competition, Cedar Hill finished first in percussion, second in color guard and third in drum majors.

Parrish is currently CEO and owner of Parrish Restaurants, Ltd, which owns and operates 27 restaurants in Dallas and surrounding areas. He says he's committed to giving back to the community, especially causes that support the education and welfare of youth.

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