Sounds of the Stadium concert scheduled for Oct. 14
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| Photo by senior Catherine O'Connor |
 The Marching Band has shown growth in its second year as a competitive performance group, said director Matt Kastor. The band already has appeared in two contests this month with one more scheduled for Oct. 23 at Mahomet-Seymour High School, which is located near Champaign.
After placing eighth in Class AA at the Prospect Knight of Champions on Oct. 2, the 87-member group took fourth place the next day at St. Rita High School's Mustang Stampede.
"They're still hungry for it," Kastor said. "I like seeing the motivation."
The drumline has been one of the strong points of the competitive season, while consistency and execution have been some of the weaker spots, Kastor said. Several judges are on hand at each contest to evaluate the band on many levels of music and visual performance and to make comments to help the group improve.
The Marching Band will present its Tribal Elements-themed show at the Sounds of the Stadium concert, which is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. This is the culminating event for the group, which first began practicing the music in July.
The choirs performed at a concert last Thursday. Under the direction of Diana O'Connor, each choir performed songs relating to water. O'Connor said she thought the water theme was appropriate, considering the school's proximity to the Chain of Lakes. She said her students sang the challenging literature beautifully.
"I felt we did a great job and there is always room for improvement, but I think we showed that our program is growing and we are working hard to bring quality music to this community," O'Connor said. |
