-Claire Schmaltz
A new season brings fresh sounds as the marching band takes the field with a unique theme this year. With months of work already in place, these students are ready to bring their show to life with plenty for the audiences to look forward to.
This is Brittany Hildenbrand’s fourth year directing The Marching Lions and she is very excited to see how her students execute the new theme – Floriography: A Language in Bloom. They want to portray how each flower has its own meaning.
“We are going to have four movements each representing a different flower,” said senior McKenna Miller.
Hildenbrand has wanted to do a theme that contrasts from all the shows they have performed in the past years.
“This show is aimed at portraying the language (or Floriography) of flowers and what they represent,” said Hildenbrand.
This summer, the band held camp toward the end of July. This is where they worked on their new show, perfecting every detail before they performed in front of the stands or judges.
“Band camp went well!” said Hildenbrand. “This year our marchers are doing extremely well with the fundamentals and picking up the music and drill quickly!”
After seeing the turn out of camp this summer, Hildebrand was very excited to get the season started. She said the goals for her students this year are just to have fun and enjoy the special moments they get to experience.
“My goals for this season are to become better at marching and improve my musicianship,” said Miller.
For many students, band is where they feel most comfortable and can express themselves, so Hildenbrand tries hard to make it a good experience and also make it enjoyable. While having fun is also important, she also wants each band member to try their best and work hard to perform strong.
“My favorite part of being a band director is seeing the kids open up to one another and branch out to try something new,” Hildenbrand said.
This is very important for directors to love seeing their kids grow because if they do not have someone cheering them on from the sidelines, they may lose interest in something they love. There have been many friendships that have been made during the long weekends of performing and late nights practicing to make the movements perfect, these are the memories that will last forever.
“My favorite part of the band is gaining friendships that I couldn't have found anywhere else,” said Miller.
With this new season approaching, the band is ready to put it all on the field, with new challenges and memories to make this year one to remember.
Claire Schmaltz