It was his second attempt at earning a place in the band but, after going through the initial difficulties of learning to play in 2009 while at St Kevin's College, persistence has won through for the 18-year-old.
He is working on a dairy farm to to pay for attending practices in New Zealand and for the trip to Vancouver in July next year to play at several highland games, plus a band guest appearance at Disneyland on the way home from the three-week tour.
''Sweet'', was Mr Parsons' reaction when he found out Disneyland was also on the itinerary.
The youth band has about 30 pipers and drummers, who have to be under 21 years old. Most are aged 18 or 19.
Mr Parsons started learning the chanter first under tutor Bruce Carlisle in July 2009, before progressing to the bagpipes about three months later after the basics had been mastered.
''I thought I would try something different,'' he said about learning to play the pipes.
''But if I'd known the travel opportunities, I would have started earlier.''
The first six months was difficult, but he never thought about stopping once he was on the pipes, Mr Parsons said.
He played for the Waitaki District Schools Pipe Band and then joined the South Canterbury Highland Pipe Band in Timaru. He chose the Timaru band because it played at a grade 2 level, giving him greater competition and a higher degree of difficulty.
Last June, the band competed at the world championships in Glasgow.
Mr Parsons first applied for the national youth band in 2010, but had ''no chance'' of being selected, having played for just six months.
In April this year he applied again, sending a DVD to tutors, and felt ''quietly confident''.
''I also knew if I didn't get in, there was really nothing I could do.''
Last month he learnt he had been selected.
The next step is practising with the national youth pipe band in Auckland, in September, and Christchurch, in January.
That is being paid for from Mr Parsons' dairy farm wages. He started as a relief dairy worker part-time while still at school and he was offered a full-time job when he completed the seventh form last year.
In the future, he would like to compete in the world championships again in Glasgow in 2015. If the Timaru band did not go, then Mr Parsons would see, via contacts he had made in Glasgow, whether he could play for a Scottish band.
He said he would also continue to compete with the Timaru band and put in the hours of practice needed to maintain a competitive edge.
- david.bruce@odt.co.nz
