At Bullitt East High School in Mount Washington, Kentucky, senior Amanda Kerr recounts her years as a mellophone player in the school’s marching band, reported by Kaylyn Newman in the school’s student newspaper.
“Being a part of this team means new friends, new family, people that I call family even if I don’t know them fully, and helping people get better,” Kaylyn quoted her as saying. “People don’t understand how much we practice in really bad heat, and in the end how cold it can get. But at the end of the day, it feels really good to go through that and make a ton of progress.”
For Bullitt East’s band, the end of the day has occasionally happened at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts and, more importantly, the Bands of America Grand National Champioships, which celebrates 51 years this fall.
“One of my proudest moments was last season when the band was able to go to Bands of America at Locus Oil Stadium. It was crazy, because a couple of months before, I was there to watch big groups do it professionally in the same stadium that I would be singing in and performing myself. So I felt really proud that I was in that same stage as they were.”
The band’s field show last year included classical and wind repertoire selections such as Frank Ticheli’s “Angels in the Architecture,” Louis Bourgeois’s “Old Hundredth,” and Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” This fall, their show is entitled “Shadows of the Big Top” and includes a variety of musical selections, including “Creep” and “Breakfast Machine.”
