With the completion of this past Saturday’s MacMurray Homecoming parade, the Marching Crimsons’ season has officially come to a close. They finished with an array of wins, including two third place trophies at the Western Illinois University and Dunlap field show competitions and a first and a gold ranking at Quincy Senior High.
As for the first place win, it was a much needed boost for all the members after weeks and even years of devastating losses. “I was surprised at how much we’ve improved compared to recent years,” says junior trumpet Katie Davidsmeyer. “When we got first in our division, no one knew how to react. We all stood there in utter disbelief.”
For the seniors, this year was an utter success in comparison to previous years. Overseeing this unexpected success is band director Matt Johnson. “I think that we made some progress over last year. Our marching did improve, and we played better as a group,” he says. “I was both happy and pleasantly surprised at how our season ended.”
After a long and tiring season of practices, football games, field shows, and parades, the sixty students have mixed feelings. “As a senior, I’m happy,” says percussionist Clayton Oberg. “There’s a level of stress and exhaustion involved in band, and it’s a load off my shoulders to not have to think about it anymore.”
Many were also sad to finish off the season. “This season was full of highs and lows, ending on a high note. We were all surprised about the first place victory,” says sophomore percussionist Danyon Beal. “It’s always sad to see the seniors go, but to go on a win is great.”
Junior Drum Major Hayley Rockwell agrees, “All good things must come to an end, right?”
A major struggle with the season was the discouragement that everyone felt after all the hard work didn’t pay off—until the very end. “I was disappointed that after all of the time we put in we didn’t score well until our last competition,” says freshman saxophone Alexis Shanks. “But I was also happy that we did keep improving the father the season went on. I loved spending time with everyone, and I am glad that we finally showed what we could accomplish.”
One of the main things that will be missed sorely during the offseason is the community that is built among the members. “My favorite part was seeing everyone bond together towards the end of the season,” comments Rockwell. “We are like one big family.”
Next year, Johnson and his upperclassmen will have to begin all over again, along with a new batch of freshman. “We seem to have had a streak of wonderful freshman [this year], so the next class should be just as great, if not more so,” says Davidsmeyer.
“I would love to see the band grow by ten or fifteen students for next year,” says Johnson. By accomplishing this goal, the band would benefit greatly, from being able to do more complex drills to having a more disciplined structure as a whole.
“Join band if your schedule isn’t busy and don’t mind long hours, because we need you,” laughs Shanks.
“Join band – it’s a good experience, and you can make memories with your friends that will last a lifetime,” Rockwell promises.
“It won’t be easy, but it sure will be fun,” says Davidsmeyer.
Concert band kicks off in a few weeks, starting with the Veterans Day concert and continuing with the annual holiday concert on Sunday, December 7 at two o’clock in the West Gym.