The drum majors take their positions and as their hands fly up, the marching band and Color Guard, groups consisting of about 230 students, step onto the football field at the same time.
Every person’s hands constantly move, fingers waltzing between notes, ears listen to make sure their individual sound blends with the ensemble, feet move forward, to the side, diagonally, and even backward, and eyes frantically dart between watching the space in front of them to referencing the three drum majors’ hands for the beat to looking up into the stands and smiling, all to achieve a stellar performance.
The marching band, using the choir as a featured element this year, has been performing parts of their competition show titled “Find Your Voice” during the halftime of games to practice for their competition season in October.
The band’s performance looks seamless on the field, but it’s the result of dozens of hours of work each fall.
On the night of a football game, members come to school at 5:30 p.m., and getting ready not only includes changing into a marching band uniform, but also a variety of separate warm-ups, with band playing, choir singing, and color guard spinning flags.
The band then sits in the home section of the bleachers, farthest from the main entrance, and performs pop songs like “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Animal” as a standstill ensemble to help “pep up” the crowd.
When they’re not playing, band members enjoy encouraging their peers in various programs and talking to their friends and relaxing after a busy week.
For junior flautist Deyshna Pai, performing at football games isn’t as stressful as a competition but is another way to be socially involved at SHS.
“I think while my favorite part is playing music in general, I also look forward to watching our football team play and our dance team dance during half-time,” Pai said. “It’s another way of supporting my other friends who are in different activities.”
After the first two quarters of the game, the band, Color Guard and choir meet up by the end zone and the three separate groups in the music program join together as one marching band as their drum majors’ hands fly up.
