The new school year is in full swing, and with that, so is the football season. The lights, the cheerleading, and the student section are all staples of a high school football game, but none of it would be the same without the marching band.
Kicking the game off with the national anthem and entertaining the crowd during halftime, putting on a memorable show for the audience to love is no easy task. Led by band director Christopher Takis, the marching band season starts back in spring, months before any football games take place.
“We have a week-long band camp in the summer eight to five every single day, and then we have weekly rehearsals for the rest of the season,” Takis said. “It’s fun to be a part of, but it is a lot of work.”
Once the band is established and ready to start training, the halftime show setlist is thought of and chosen by Takis, with every song centered around a general theme.
“The halftime show’s theme this year is called ‘Illumination,’ and every single song has to do with light,” Takis said. “It’s ‘Walking on Sunshine’ by Katrina and the Waves, ‘Blinding Lights’ by The Weeknd, ‘Light ‘Em Up’ by Fallout Boy, and it ends with ‘Mr. Brightside.’”
Unlike other schools, marching band isn’t required when taking band as a course, which makes the band smaller, but far more passionate, according to Takis.
“Everybody who chooses to be in marching band wants to be there,” Takis said. “Everybody works very well with each other.”
While the fundamentals are emphasized, team spirit and chemistry are the factors that matter in the long run, Takis explains. Elena Martin ‘27 is one of the most important leaders in the band, commanding the group as drum major.
“I’m the leader of the band,” Martin said. “I conduct the band during shows, and during band camp I make sure everyone knows what they’re doing.”
According to Martin, coordination and team bonds are so vital when it comes to having a group of people marching together around a field. That’s one of the reasons why the practices go so in-depth.
“We constantly try [to] master the rehearsal process,” Takis said. “Games are won in the preparation [of] games, the practice. That’s been a big part of what we put a lot of emphasis on this year.”
While the practicing and rehearsals are so extensive, every minute of it is put to use. Clarinet player Rocky Bocci ‘27 appreciates the time given, and would even play more with the band if given the opportunity.
“We only have one rehearsal a week,” Bocci said. “We are constantly training the rookies in how careful we need to be to stay still and attentive during the actual performance.”
When it comes down to it, creating a halftime show is no easy task. However, with the efforts of Takis along with the rest of the band, there is more than enough talent to create a halftime show to entertain the crowd, and have fun while doing it.
“For us, it’s just a really fun after school activity,” Martin said. “It’s about having fun, it’s about the community.”
