By Isabella Zarate
As students, staff, and families alike get into the swing of this new school year, the St. Joseph-Ogden Marching Spartans are already a few steps ahead.
According to band director, Chuck Hess, the students have been hard at work preparing for this season.
“Our camp was the last two weeks of July,” Hess explained. Within those two weeks, members came together and dedicated nearly seven hours a day, Monday through Friday, to perfecting their routines and further developing their skills.
“We worked on the music for the show as well as our marching fundamentals,” Hess shared.
He went on, “Students also began learning their individual spots in the drill design for the show.”
Since the COVID pandemic, Hess, and all 46 of the Marching Spartans have persistently devoted their time to ensure that this season is back to normal.
Hess elaborated, “We worked diligently last year to make up for time lost and I believe we are back to where we were pre-Covid.”
With that being said, Hess and the band have a busy schedule ahead including performances at all home football games as well as five marching band competitions (Washington HS, Illinois Wesleyan University, Danville HS, Dunlap HS, and the U of I Marching Band Championship).
Also included in their hectic schedule, the Marching Spartans’ big show. This year the group will be performing “Turbo,” an automotive, racing themed work.
“There are literally hundreds of potential marching band shows that are available for groups to perform,” Hess explained. Nonetheless, “The students and I found this one and thought it would be a good fit for us this year.”
With a full season ahead, Hess hopes his students remember that their effort never goes unnoticed.
“The reward for achieving excellence in any activity is always worth the mountain of effort that is required to get there.”
