Anna Williams
It’s time again for another marching band season and students involved are enthusiastic about their new show.

“Our show is exciting this year,” co-captain junior Samantha Baehr said. “It’s different from past years but I really like it.”

The 2007 marching band show, titled “The Odyssey,” is based off the epic adventure written by Homer.

The show has four movements that illustrate the journey and struggles that the hero, Odysseus, goes through in order to return home to his family. The movements are titled, “The Iliad,’ “Winds of Poseidon,” “The Isle of Calypso,” and “Ithaca.”

In “The Iliad,” an ancient battle and the glory of victory is expressed through the music.

In “Winds of Poseidon,” the hero and his crew are sailing towards his home when the vengeful Greek god Poseidon releases his wrath and wrecks their ship.

In the “Isle of Calypso,” the hero and his crew get stranded on an island where a witch casts a love spell on them and holds them captive.

In the last movement, “Ithaca,” the hero finally returns home and tells of his adventures.

“I like the music this year,” senior saxophone player Ryan Nelson said. “It has a good impact and it’s right to the point.”

The marching band premiered their efforts Sept. 14 during halftime at the home football game against Burlington.

Shortly after, the band competed in Mount Pleasant, IA, Sept. 22. and earned the Grand Champion title. They also received the awards for Best Hornline, Best Drumline, Best Drum Majors, and Best Colorguard both in their class and overall.

“For our first competition we showed them that we are a force to reckon with,” colorguard captain senior Christine Jensen said. “We still have a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction.”

This season, the band will also compete in Mount Prospect, IL, Minneapolis, MN, host State Contest at Brady Street Stadium, perform at Band Spectacular and all remaining home football games.

The band starts at 7:00 am in the morning every other school day to rehearse and practices for four hours every Saturday.

“We’re learning a lot in what seems like a short amount of time,” Baehr said. “It’s important that we stay focused and work as a team.”

All marching band staff along with drum majors Kelsey Daufeldt and Guy Iaccarino work with section leaders and colorguard captains to make the rehearsal more productive and fix the things that make the show better.

“Everyone listens to the leaders really well this year so they’re able to fix things more quickly,” Nelson said. “The section leaders can tell others what their doing wrong and have it corrected without complaints.”

The marching band is applying hard work, dedication and teamwork into rehearsals to make this season a successful one.

“By the end of the season, everyone will realize that all our hard work pays off,” Baehr concluded.