The Marching Band and Colorguard season is on the rise. With a busy schedule ahead of them, the members have been putting in countless hours, six days a week, to perfect their field show performance as well as their marching routines. They practice in the mornings for over an hour every day, on top of Monday sectionals and Wednesday evening rehearsals. Weekly Saturday rehearsals last from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They work on learning new parts to their field show, so they are able to piece the entire performance together for competition season.

Their field show, Rebirth, focuses on the renewal of life and is beautifully composed, featuring solos from the brass instruments. The Colorguard uses sophisticated costumes to accurately convey the message of the performance. As more of the show will be completed in the following weeks, the usage of props will also be integrated into their show.

Last month, the Band and Colorguard had the opportunity to perform parts one and two of their field show publicly for the first time at the first home football game of the year. It was a special experience for the AHS student body to see the hard work that the musicians have put in come to life. It’s exciting to be able to see a little more of their show come to performance level at each succeeding football game.

The Band and Colorguard will be performing their field show at the upcoming football games: Sept. 29, Oct. 6 (homecoming game), and Oct. 27. Be sure to stop by and check out what they’re all about during the halftime show!

Alto-saxophone sophomore Sydney Chang expressed that she is excited to return to this upcoming band season as a second-year member. She hopes to improve as a marcher and player holistically and is looking forward to forging new friendships with the new people she will meet this year.

With the busy season ahead, they will be participating in many field show competitions and parades across the region. Their first field competition will be the Rowland Field Competition on Oct. 14. They will also be competing in their first parade at the Mt. Carmel Competition on Oct. 28. We wish the Band and Colorguard a very successful season this fall!

Photo courtesy of TONY CHEN