WASHINGTON -- The North Allegheny High School Marching Band scored the soundtrack to history during President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday.

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The band collected donations and paid its own way to Washington to be a part of the historic event.

Hundreds of bands applied, but North Allegheny was chosen based on an impressive resume that includes performances at Walt Disney World and the Steelers' Super Bowl XL victory parade.

"I tell the kids it is intense," band director Todd Stefan said. "You are playing for the world, but if you just separate yourself from that and say, 'You know what -- it's a parade...'"

Students in the band said their trip to the nation's capital would be the performance of a lifetime.

"I mean, it's on a whole other scale. It's historical, it's political, it's just everything else heightened," junior Rachael Dittmar said.

North Allegheny Superintendent Dr. Patricia Green saw the experience as the ultimate teaching opportunity.

"I think that when we as educators look at the inauguration, and we look at this particular inauguration, there has to be a reflection on the history of the country and the future of the country," said Green.

While students are accustomed to reading about history in their school classrooms, they looked forward to actually taking part in it.

"It's almost like you could be in one of the books that you are reading," said senior Katelyn Rossier. "When they write about this, your teachers at North Allegheny will be like, 'At the inauguration, your marching band was there.'"