by Raphael Nigaglioni|staff writer
Claudia Taylor Johnson’s latest band show, ‘Eve,’ is ready to entertain Jag fans starved for their marching band fix.
“Performing at the game was exciting. I was speechless,” sophomore James Russell said. “We put tons of effort into the show, everyone gives 100%.”
For some band members, it is difficult adjusting to a new show. They have to forget everything they knew about the last show and make a commitment to the new show.
“As a junior, I have experience and know how it should feel,” Garion Meyers said.
Coming up with the show ideas isn’t an easy task. It requires time and effort.
“We started working on it back in November of last year. So basically when we finish one we spend about eight to nine months putting it together, doing research on pieces we want to find, what would be a good fit for the talent that is in the band that year. It’s not really difficult, just time consuming,” band director Jarrett Lipman said.
Each year is a fresh start for the band directors. All the mistakes from previous shows can be fixed and new ideas can be introduced.
“There were a lot of great things about last year, some of the not so great things from last year we fixed. It’s always exciting, that first game is always a lot of fun because the freshmen get to do their first performance in full uniform. It was a really strong first performance for us,” Lipman said.
The band performs the show various times throughout the year.
“We expect it to be great. It’s growing on (the students), at first I think they were excited about doing Coldplay’s music on the field but maybe not as excited about the concept,” Lipman said. “We’ve had more kids tell us they like the music, and they think its some of their most favorite music they’ve done and we kind of feel the same way.”
Hard work and determination are always worth it in the long run, especially when it leads to a good show.
“It’s a lot of work but it pays off in the end. It may seem like staying 12 hours out on a parking lot in the middle of August is ridiculous, but when you see the results on how well you do and making finals, it’s a lot of fun. It’s rewarding,” junior Madison Shell said.
