Band moonwalks into a new tailored show

Marching Band prepares its first tailored show since Dr. Buddy Clements, the former band director, retired in 2016.

After years of purchasing pre-existing shows, this change will revive the annual tradition of custom made shows that Clements had implemented. The band directors wanted to challenge students and provide a special experience that is personal to the entire organization. The theme for the performance is “Cosmic Codes,” a space-related concept centered around an alien invasion that focuses on creative storytelling through communication, visual motifs and hidden symbols.

“It’s probably cooler than any show I’ve ever performed. That’s partly because it’s so thematically linked together and cohesive as a creative product. I think the way our creative design team wrote the show made it very passionate and way better than anything we’ve ever had,” head drum major senior Keegan Beecher said. “I want everyone to have a good time and [the audience] to enjoy a good performance.”

Plans for the show started in April, while the theme was released in early June. The design process required extensive planning and brainstorming between front ensemble instructor and arranger Erick Urbina and wind instrument writer Jacob Wetzel. They worked together to make the outline of the show and hope to finish designing the entire show by October.

“We’ve never started a show doing the entire design, especially for a full band,” Urbina said. “I’m hoping we score and do really well, especially since it’s a bit darker and more edgy.”

For instance, the visual instructors have incorporated a Morse code motif by writing the code on the tables in the field. They are also planning on using music notes to communicate the hidden words to the audience.

“We’ve never seen a show incorporate Morse code at the high school level,” band and orchestra director Katie Takahashi said. “We’re not trying to send a message necessarily, it’s supposed to be a mystery that piques interest for the audience. I’m excited to build that motif visually and through the music. I hope the judges really like it because that could be something that sets our show apart from others.”

The program includes “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson, “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra and “E.T.” by Katy Perry. However, the band faces difficulties in adjusting to the songs due to the different expectations that each piece conveys, such as ensuring that their sound volume complements the intended emotion of the song. Other challenges the students face are organizing the leadership team and adapting to formations on the field.

“Since it’s tailored, the show will play more on our strengths and weaknesses as an ensemble,” band captain and alto saxophonist  junior Lin Walker said. “I’m genuinely excited for the show. I can’t wait to see how everything plays out on the field and how other people will interpret the story.”

While the show originally acted as a challenge to students, the band directors hope to continue writing custom shows in the future to enhance their strengths and grow as an organization.

“We as a band want to be more successful and have a better program. We want to push our band to do more and to do better than we have ever done,” Beecher said. “It’s all about communication between me and the leadership team. The idea of keeping this motivation comes from both encouraging leaders and regular band members to be role models for each other [and setting a good example ourselves]. You realize that you’re doing it not just for yourself, but for the experience of everyone else around you.”