NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — The Princess Anne Fabulous Marching Cavaliers were not merely invited to attend Pharrell Williams' biopic premiere, "Piece by Piece," on Oct. 9, in New York City. They were invited to perform.
In March 2023, John Boyd, Princess Anne High School's marching band director, was contacted by a member of Pharrell's team, wondering if the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers wanted to collaborate on a theme song for the movie.
In the spring of 2023, Pharrell's recording engineer Mike Larson visited Princess Anne High School and the band recorded the music that Pharrell's team had sent. Larson then reached out to Boyd after the session to take the names of the students that had participated.
On Sept. 6, the theme song "Piece by Piece" was released by Apple Music and Spotify with the Princess Anne musicians credited.
"A takeaway I hope the kids can glean from this is to actually listen to the lyrics of the song and realize that nothing is done overnight," Boyd said. "We build our futures ‘piece by piece’ through hard work, perseverance, overcoming obstacles, and belief in ourselves and our team.”
Focus Features told Boyd that the band was invited to the movie's premiere at The Lincoln Center in New York City on Oct. 9.
“My experience while recording with Pharrell turned out to be quite enjoyable,” said senior Xavier Whitehead, a percussionist.
“I take pride in the fact that I was able to be a part of such a large project, especially since it was coming from a Fabulous Marching Cavaliers alum,” said junior Elliot Boyd, who plays the French horn. “The music was easy to play, and the producer who was with us was very communicative with his vision, and it was a very jovial environment all around.”
Pharrell's movie was originally set to premiere at the now-postponed Something in the Water festival in Virginia Beach in October. "Piece by Piece" will be released on Oct. 11.
