As the football season ends, so does the Big Red Marching Band’s season. As instrumentalists continue to work towards their next seasons of music, jazz band and concert band, the band units say farewell until next year.
To prepare for this year’s marching band season, the band and units all attended a summer band camp held at the high school. The camp spanned from Monday, July 29 to Thursday, Aug. 1, then continued the following week from Monday, Aug. 5 through Thursday, Aug. 8. During the second week of band camp, everyone in the marching band participated in a spirit week, where a student, as well as a group of students, were awarded points for the band Olympics each day for their participation effort. Students were also awarded points for their Olympics team if they put in good effort during the day.
During each season, the marching band picks a certain theme for their halftime show. Last year, the theme for halftime was called “Halftime Hits,” while this year’s theme was “Kaleidoscope.” During the halftime show, the band played a few different songs: “Paint it, Black” by the Rolling Stones, “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix, “Mr. Blue Sky” by the Electric Light Orchestra and “99 Red Balloons” by Nena.
The marching band had a total of ten seniors. On Oct. 25, the band celebrated senior night, where each senior was honored for their time being on the band. The instrumentalists had six seniors: Hailey Stinar, Joseph Castelli, Elias Boyd, Ryan Fessler, Jesse Reinhardt and Alexandria Huselton. The band units had a total of four seniors. The drill team had one senior, Aurea Hickenboth (12). The majorettes had two seniors: Trista Somerville (12) and Erica Young (12). The flag line had one senior, Cholayna Johns (12).
“Band has allowed me to meet a very wide variety of people,” Hickenboth said. “All the kids and adults involved in band were always so friendly and welcoming that they made it easy to get to know new people.”
Before the season began, two members of the band were chosen to become drum majors. The chosen students were Calla Reynolds (11) and Audrey Mooney (10). Drum majors not only direct the band during performances, but they also foster a friendly environment for all members.
“I am incredibly honored I had the opportunity to serve as the drum major for two consecutive seasons, and I truly hope I get the position again my senior year,” Reynolds said. “It was amazing watching the band grow within the last two years alone. I can not wait to see what the future has in store for this group of musicians.”
In the stands, the band played a multitude of different songs depending on how the game was going. When a touchdown occurred, the band would play the high school’s fight song called “Bulldogs”, which was composed by the marching band. It is set that the band plays “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channel during the end of the third quarter, as well as some set songs played during the game. For example, during the month of October, the band would play “Thriller” by Micheal Jackson in honor of Halloween, which they also played for their Halloween parade.
The marching band traveled a number of places outside of school. During the summer, the band and band units traveled to Kennywood on Aug. 11, where they performed in an annual Kennywood parade. They traveled to New Brighton on Oct. 16 for their annual Halloween parade, where everyone in the marching band dressed up in costumes. On Nov. 11, they performed at the Veterans Day parade. During the parade they were given the opportunity to play the “Star Spangled Banner” for an audience at the courthouse.
The season consisted of a plethora of traditions. At the end of each game, the football team and the cheerleaders would join to sing the school’s alma mater with the band. Another tradition was with the majorettes. Before each halftime show, they would huddle together and have a pep talk, then they would then put their batons in the middle and yell “One Two Three Fushigi” and spin their batons backward.
“My favorite part about marching band is the football games,” Ashley Benavidez-Martinez (9) said. “I feel like all my problems just go away when I am with my friends there.”
Although the season has come to an end, the marching band wishes their departing seniors farewell, while those who are not seniors prepare for the following marching season.