On Friday, Sept. 22, the day of Stoughton’s Homecoming football game, the Stoughton High School band took to Collins Field on a cloudy night. As the members walked to their spots, the crowd watched, waiting for the show to begin.
The music they played is called “From a New World,” which comes from Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, and is about his visit to America in the 1980s.
According to SHS Band Director, Dan Schmidt, the music is “looking at a new world within the context of the new world.”
There is also an element of what we as a society think our new world is. The latest addition to our band, the color guard, significantly impacts how people view the show. Color guard members wear space suits during the performance to represent one of the possibilities of a new world. This helps further get the story along about traveling to a new world, according to Color Guard Director Derek Laughlin. Additionally, every individual has their own new world with the challenges they face every day and how those change them.
With new and more challenging music, the band had to work hard to perfect their show. To do so, the band started with their annual band camp at the end of July to prepare for the show and refresh any skills lost over the summer. There, they practiced all of the basics necessary to put on a good performance. They learned an array of skills, as explained by sophomore and Clarinet Section Leader Morgan Luick.
“We practice pep tunes, show music, field show drill, and basic marching technique,” Luick said.
Band camp is just a tiny portion of all the practice they put in, according to senior and Drum Line Section Leader Allie Kolberg.
“We have rehearsals every Monday and Thursday which last for about two hours from 6:30 to 8:30,” Kolberg said.
The field show performance is not the only performance the band puts on during homecoming week. They perform at the pep assembly, the homecoming parade, and they also play their pep tunes in the stands at the game along with the performance.
Preparing for all of their performances takes a lot of time. Senior and Brass Section Leader Alley Parks also explained that some of that time comes out of their school day, requiring them to make up work that they missed.
“We miss classes with work that we have to make up on our own time,” Parks said.
While watching the show, you may have noticed non-band members on the field. These people are a part of our color guard. The SHS band has a color guard for the first time in 10 years, meaning they can perform their show in competitions.
While Stoughton’s color guard may be small, they add a huge visual factor to the show. They put actions behind the music being played to help tell the story.
“Color guard adds so much color, movement, and narrative potential to a marching band show,” said Laughlin. “Depending on the show design, the color guard can create specific
characters or define the location or time period with costumes and visuals.”
Right now, there are three members of the color guard. This created a few challenges when it came to learning the performance, with the show even being rewritten to accommodate for the smaller group.
While having a small group may not be ideal, they made it work, having practice Mondays and Thursdays to perfect their skills. Laughlin and Schmidt hope to expand color guard in the upcoming years.
“We are hoping to recruit a larger group next year and really work to get people spinning throughout the year so, that by the time the band is ready to go, the color guard won’t be learning new skills from scratch,” Laughlin said.
Be sure to look out for any announcements from Mr. Schmidt if you want to join Color Guard next year or about band’s upcoming performances .
