Chances are most people have seen or heard the band performing, but what a lot of people don’t see is the elements that go into making the band successful.
“The band room is the safest room in the building… you come in this room, there are 80 kids in here and not all of them are band kids… this band being accepting [to people in the band and outside of the band] was a big
thing for us,” Band director Darren Myers said. A unique aspect of the band is the environment it provides for everyone involved. “It’s a friendly, loving environment. Everyone really cares about each other and the people are very supportive,” freshman Mallory Oswald said. Junior Jordan Arrick said, “The environment is great and the people are super friendly.”
Along with a good environment, band shows take months of planning, hard work, and dedication from both students and staff to be successful. “[When planning a band show] we sit down as a staff and we talk about what we need to work on and what we think our strengths are going to be for the next year… In a normal year we usually listen to around sixty hours of music before deciding what to play,” Myers said.
After a marching band show is selected, music is usually given out around February and learned almost entirely at home on a student’s own time. This music is expected to be learned by the summer when students attend a short preseason and then an additional longer camp in the last three weeks of summer. This practice continues throughout the beginning of the school year including Monday night rehearsals and additional practice in the classroom. The goal of all this practice is to ensure students are prepared to march and play through around eight minutes of music making as few mistakes as possible. While it is a lot of work, the majority of people in the band do it because they are passionate and willing to put in the effort. “I love being surrounded by music and I really enjoy learning to play an instrument,” junior Tatum Pelley said.
The purpose of Millard South’s marching band show this year was to “lift the audience up” band director Darren Myers said. This year’s show was Rise Up in reference to the song and music video Rise Up by Andra Day. The tune of the song appeared at both the beginning and end of the performance which strengthened the connection between the two. The show’s music aimed to represent a day in the life of someone rising above a difficult situation, with the different parts of the show representing progression throughout the day. The inspiration for the band show this year was “basically ordinary people doing extraordinary things,’’ Myers said.
Some achievements that the Marching band earned this year include coming in first in the Clarinda Iowa band competition. Also, Millard South’s band placed seventh, and Color guard placed fourth out of eighteen schools in the NSBA (Nebraska State Bandmasters Association) marching band competition.
It’s important to note that the Marching band is only one of many band programs at Millard South. After the marching season, Millard South has three concert bands, two jazz bands, a pep band, a show band, and a winter guard. There are also many smaller ensembles, quartets, and solos during the second semester. “Kids in band understand and appreciate that… they’re a part of something that doesn’t end [after marching season],” Myers said.
Millard South’s band provides students in the band with a unique and beneficial environment that allows them to do something they’re passionate about while being surrounded by people who are passionate about the same thing.
For students not in the band, the band provides music and entertainment during sporting events, pep rallies, concerts, and band competitions. When listening to and watching the band perform it becomes clear that all the work and effort put in by everyone involved pays off. The result makes for a fantastic experience for both the viewers and the performers.