The CHIEF September 2024

Band Update By Nevaeh Lee

If you attended our first home football game and sat in the student section, you might have seen some new faces. The Pontiac Marching Indians are a new addition to the stands, bringing a brighter atmosphere and smoother connection between the band and the rest of the student body. However, we aren’t just at football games; since July 29th the marching band has been preparing to compete with this year's show entitled “Eclipse: A Celestial Symphony.” When writing the show, they were looking for a spacey, atmospheric vibe written into the music, score, and drill itself. The show begins with a remix of the revolutionary three note interval everyone associates with space. The second movement uses pieces from Gustav Holst’s The Planets, such as “Mars” and “Jupiter. ”Holst was revolutionary in the fact that he wrote in a time where little was known about space, and still managed to encompass space through music. Our whole show tips a hat to those that came before us, while the added flare makes space for the future of music. The second movement continues to evoke emotion from the audience through several section features, including a brass feature with double tonguing to symbolize velocity and rapidness. The whole show moves back and forth between serenity and intensity. Circling back to the title of the show, the eclipse affects the shapes the band makes, how the guard moves, and how the music is played. Throughout the performance, the band makes figures of the moon throughout the various phases of an eclipse. Meanwhile, the guard moves glamorously through a “display of effortless technique.” The two soloists, Maddie Grampp and Sherry Bray create flow, and the voiceovers paint the picture for the viewers. “Eclipse: A Celestial Symphony” is a journey from a feeling of space where we don’t know where we are going, to a sense of emergence and vibrancy towards the end. The best part about this specific show is that it features a lot of great literature from the band/orchestra realm and combines the brilliance of many composers. The show creates an ecstatic feel both for the audience and those marching. Mr. Valois also has words to say about the band: “This is an amazing class and group to work with. As a first year teacher I am very lucky to have them as my first class. All of their positivity, respect, and hard work makes my job exciting, easy, and makes me grateful that this is what I get to wake up and do every day. I am very pleased with the sounds we are making and the marching, and I only expect it to get better as the years progress.” The band competed September 7th in Washington, IL, and won first place in their division. If you want to see them in action, the Marching Band will be competing at Eastern Illinois University on October 12th and at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on October 26th.