Heritage High School Marching Band prepares for competition season
BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
Broadlands, Ill. – After five hours of band camp for five nights last week, the Heritage High School Marching Band is in a good place.
With its first competition performance on Sept 14 at Monticello High School, the band of 35 has about 50 percent of its music and about 70 percent of its charts memorized.
Music Director Justin Lee said the progress is because of the great staff, the compassionate seniors and a good group of musicians who worked hard.
“This group has a great group of seniors as leaders — they don’t assert their age, they really do a good job of using their experience to help younger players,” Lee said.
Joining Lee’s team is first-year color guard instructor Sarah Friedel from SIU-E, Michael Olson from the San Francisco Conservatory, in his third year helping the low brass, Illinois Wesleyan graduate and Armstrong-Potomac Band Director Beau Biedscheid continues in his third year with the woodwinds and Heritage alum and Eastern Illinois University graduate Abigail Stites will work with the percussion.
Lee looks to have all of the students ready to pass their playing tests by Labor Day.
“Each night is a mix of music rehearsals, marching fundamentals, and learning the show,” Lee said. “We rely heavily on peer teaching and modeling, and for years that has worked well.”
Heritage High School’s 2019 Competition Show titled “Time After Time” was arranged by Luke McMillan, a marching band show design studio based in Texas. The show includes “Clocks” by Coldplay and “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper.
“I want them to approach the music with the same passion and intensity as the composers,” Lee said.
Lee also said the music fits the 2019 marching band’s experience and skill level well.
The Heritage community rallied around the students and staff each night, providing a large dinner for the performers.
“That is essential bonding time, and as the week goes on, we see the benefit of that time,” Lee said.
But the fun did not end there.
Lee said the group also ate way too much ice cream each night, and the week ended with a pool party at Miller’s Aquatics.
Heritage will perform on Sept. 14 in Monticello, Sept. 28 at Danville and on Oct. 19, the competition season ends in Effingham.
As always, the marching band will perform its show at the Meet the Player night at Heritage High School in November.
