The Difficulties of Band
From early morning rehearsals to late night football games, the band continues to practice
The marching band’s 2018 fall show titled “Above and Beyond” showcases the curiosity human’s have with space. The three movements describe the ascent into space from airplanes to outer space and beyond. The show features music from “Rocket Man” by Elton John and “The Planets” by Gustav Holst.
While some are still in bed or brushing their teeth,100 students are at school for marching band practice. These students practice at least 15 hours a week, coming in every day before school, as well as after school and on weekends for competitions if they are coming up.
Marc Lewis, one of the marching band instructor, has been working with the marching band for five years. He participated in marching band in high school and college. He said, “I haven’t seen a program that requires this much focus.”
The marching band performs at games, competitions, fifth grade extravaganzas, and Mizzou’s homecoming parade.
Lewis also said , “The competitions are very stressful but in the end you feel very accomplished.” Lewis explained that marching band can be a lot of fun but it is also a lot of work.
The marching band requires teamwork to form musical production and visual formation, Lewis said, “This experience will help them later on in life.”
Rhondell Tipton, drum major, he’s been doing this for two years. Tipton started band in sixth grade. Tipton stated “marching band is such a great experience and I love it.”
Tipton also explained that the marching band environment is, “fun and easy going, everyone has such a fun time and they also focus when they need to be focused.”
Rhondell said, “People should join marching band because high school marching band has more focus than middle school band, you have a lot of fun experiences and you are doing more than just playing an instrument.”
Sunkha Kimhang, sousaphone player, he has been in the program for two years. He says, “People should join marching band because of the many amazing opportunities students are able to experience. There are great people in it and being able to have the opportunity to play such great music. It’s a really fun program to get into, you can learn how to play really amazing music and learn fun routines.”
Kimhang said, “The many hours of practice are worth it because our performances are 10 minutes long, we have to learn the music and the marching, and in the end you reach your goal of a great performance.”
The marching band also has to be on a bus, before 10am, and are taken to competitions a few hours away. Sunkha said, “It is still so fun to go and learn from other high schools and see what they bring, we also get to show people what we can do and it’s an amazing learning experience.”