Luke recently completed his second year of fall marching band. This is 4 months of pure joy for our favorite sousaphone player. Here are (lots of) photos of him doing what he loves:
Band season begins with 3 weeks of intensive band camp. These kids are outside in the summer heat from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. We are amazed at how something that begins like this ends with a Friends and Family performance at the conclusion of Band Camp (which includes the kids marching and playing the first set of their fall show). First they practice formations without their instruments:
One week of band camp includes theme days. This is always a highlight for the kids, and includes Mc. Math Day (dress up like the band director):
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| "McMath-isms" written on his shirt. |
There's Pink Day:
Red, White, and Blue Day:
and Sectional Day (the sousas chose to be minions):
Here are some candid photos of our boy taken by our talented Assistant Band Director, Mr. Greene:
Caught doing push-ups (their accountability when they miss a step):
By the conclusion of band camp, they are ready to perform in front of an audience for the first time:
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| Group Huddle with Mr. McMath. |
A beautiful symbol over the stadium during rehearsal:
Sousaphone section:
The marching band adds so much to the home football games, and they perform their show at halftime:
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| Standing at Attention. |
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| Marching into the stadium. |
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| National Anthem. |
Stand tunes are one of our favorite parts of the games, and Mr. Brooks did an amazing job this year expanding the band's repertoire and directing music throughout the games:
Friday Night Lights:
Saturdays involve morning rehearsals and traveling to competitions to compete against other bands. Our band is amazing and wins dozens of awards each season, including First in Class, First Place Percussion, Drum Major, General Effect, Visual Performance, and Grand Champion. It is so much fun to cheer for this talented group. Their show this year was "Beetlejuice", and was incredible. The marchers even had a wardrobe change partway through the performance as they all transformed into Beetlejuice:
Winning trophies is lots of fun, but even more rewarding is the sense of community in this group. We host Fall Festival at our high school each year, which is a huge marching band competition. All families and students work together to pull off this event, and it marks the final weekend of marching band season. Luke was chosen to perform the National Anthem at Fall Festival:
The evening ends with our band taking the field in exhibition, and watching these kids play their hearts out one last time is emotional:
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| Green Lights on the Sousa Bells for their final performance. |
We are so incredibly lucky that Luke has found something that he adores so much. What a blessing this group is, as these kids learn important life lessons and are led by adults who pour so much time and love into them:
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| We love this band!! |