Marching Band

1. Senior Nayoung Jang poses for the crowd during the hal ime show at the football sectional game on Nov. 4.

Aiming for the stars

Fishers Marching Tiger Band ends season on high note

Emerson Elledge elledeme000@hsestudents.org

The Fishers Marching Tiger Band has been clawing at success for the past few years, and it is obvious that they are reaping the bene ts of it, with a recent third place nish at Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) state nals, with their national competition, Bands of America (BOA) Grand National Championships occurring a week a er. “State Finals is one of the best nights of the season,” sophomore Vivian Arney said. “Finally getting to see where we stand against other great bands in our state is a great experience. While we like to say it’s not about the competition, it sure is ful lling to see how well we do anyway.” is reward of third place was no uke, as they proved last year with their third place nish, too. e ISSMA State Finals, as well as the rest of marching band competition days, are labor intensive and sometimes up to 16 hours long. “I felt super con dent the whole day [of State],” junior drum major Hannah Schultz said. “Everyone was really excited and focused. When we nished warm-ups, I knew we were about to have an amazing performance. Our state run was the most energy I’ve ever seen our band show so far. Everyone was jumping up and down and hugging while we were walking back to the buses and trucks. I was so happy and proud of every marcher when I heard our name called for third place. I heard our score later that night and I realized the 1 real potential of this program.” Preparing for state does not happen overnight. Starting in June, the band spent hours at the school for band camp. June band camp primarily focuses on developing the fundamentals of marching, speci cally for the new members, and preparing for the band to make their yearly debut at the Spark! Fishers Parade. A er the two-week camp in June, the band takes a few weeks o before coming back for the last two weeks of July. is camp lasts ve days a week, with some days being 11 hours long. July band camp still emphasizes the importance of the fundamental skills of marching, but is also when the band begins to learn their show for the year. “I’ve had to learn how to manage my time better,” freshman Kate Harvey said. “Marching band takes a lot of hours and I have had to gure out how to manage school and band.” e marching band spent their entire season learning, developing and enhancing their show for the year. e show is evaluated on two key parts: music and visuals. e music is what is o en thought about when thinking of a band, and is evaluated at both a micro and macro level. Visuals, which involve the overall form and individual timing, are also evaluated on the micro and macro level Every year, the show revolves around a theme, with a storyline being developed around that theme. Past years’ themes include ‘Candyland,’ the ocean, and tigers. According to Schultz, the show this year has a celestial theme, which excites the band. “Our show this year is called ‘Chasing Starlight,’” Schultz said. “It’s titled as an adventure through space. We have 16 props that have huge, bright lights and galaxy print on them. rough the show, the audience is able to listen to our ensemble, along with a few soloists.” e soloists tend to be selected from the Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony, the advanced band classes. e soloists either audition for the part or are asked by a director to perform the solo. However, the band emphasizes that every contribution to the band is equal and worthwhile. “With marching band, there’s this community that you’re driven around,” junior Dylan Brown said. “[ ere is] teamwork because there is no

2. The Fishers Marching Tiger Band stands in full retreat shortly before awards at ISSMA State on Nov. 5.

bench for marching band. I love the fact that nobody can fail. You have to push your team and you have to build everybody up. It’s a very inclusive environment.” e marching band ranges from seniors in high school to seventh graders who are called ‘cadets,’ meaning some people in the band have been members for the past ve years whereas others have been involved for the past ve months. “I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover [with marching band], which is kind of cliche, but it’s true,” Arney said. “I remember being scared when I heard that we would be gaining 90 new members to the band, [which is] nearly half of the entire band, and to be honest I was even more worried when I rst met them. I was doubtful that they would rise up to the challenge to become excellent, but my expectations have been shattered. I’ve grown to love our new members and watching them grow throughout these few months has been so ful lling to me, and I was wrong to think that they wouldn’t be able to be just as phenomenal as anyone else in our band.” Members and directors alike use a family motif to describe the marching band culture, with the logic being that some days a person may not like their family, but will always love them. “ e culture of marching band doesn’t really change, the people [involved are the ones who] change,” sophomore Kate Armey said. “ e family dynamics may change, but there’s still those dynamics “ e band culture is cited as the reason the band is so great, according to Brown. “As long as we push ourselves and do our best, we’ll be great,” Brown said. e marching band has a goal, not for perfectionism, but instead for excellence. is is emphasized by Director Chad Kohler’s popular mantra ‘early is on time and on time is late.’ “I think this year, more than last year, more people are really striving for excellence 2 and are really putting in the e ort to get there,” Schultz said. “Last year, it felt like a lot of people just didn’t get it, but this year it seems that everyone really does understand how important this is for everyone involved. Everyone is really pushing themselves and the pushing themselves and the people around them to be people around them to be the best possible version of the best possible version of themselves they can be, whether themselves they can be, whether that be just as a person, or as a that be just as a person, or as a performer on the eld.” is year a monumental is year a monumental change has occurred with the change has occurred with the band’s attitude about BOA band’s attitude about BOA Grand National Championships, Grand National Championships, which took place Nov. 10-12. which took place Nov. 10-12. “Our place in Grand National “Our place in Grand National Finals is less of a question,” Finals is less of a question,” junior soloist Mia Noel said. junior soloist Mia Noel said. “Now it’s more of ‘where do we “Now it’s more of ‘where do we place in grandad’s nals?’ which has never been the case.” e band made history at Grand Nationals making nals for the very rst time in school history. e band ultimately placed tenth nationally, acknowledging the progress the band has made. e band is set to take a well deserved break before they begin preparing for their 2023 season and follow up performance at the Macy’s anksgiving Day Parade. However, some members of both the band and the guard are still working on their skills with Winter Percussion and Winter Guard. 3

3. Senior Karsten Schick conducts the band at ISSMA State on Nov. 5.

Photos courtesy of Beth Montgomery.