As we enter the second full week of school, the LTHS marching band is preparing for their upcoming performance at the LT vs Princeton football game. Many of these students spent weeks this summer preparing for marching band during the daily band camp. They spent hours a day at school practicing songs and marching routines. From Color Guard to the marching band, everyone had a different experience with camp. 

They had a rigorous daily schedule about the length of an actual school day. Color Guard and the marching band had slightly different agendas. 

“So every day, I’d get up at like 7:00… and then I’d get to school at 8:00, and we would start at 8:15. We’d go on until 12:00, and come back at 1:30 and [practice] from 1:30 to 4:00,” Ira Sonawane, a freshman in Color Guard, said.

Nicole Balang, a flute player, had a slightly different schedule.

“We would do a morning rehearsal from 8:00 am to 11:30, and from that, we would go have a lunch break until 1:00 pm… from 1-4:00, we’d do inside practice in the auditorium or band hall, where we’d actually learn to refine our music. As the week progresses, we [stopped] morning rehearsal and moved that to the afternoon.”

Students dedicated every week to marching from July 17th until the beginning of school. Freshmen had their first exposure to the high school band.

Sonawane, who is new to the marching band, said “[She] met a lot of new friends, and I got to know the people in my section a lot better… I like meeting new people, and then I knew a lot more people in my classes [during the year].”

However, band camp wasn’t amazing 100% of the time. 

“[My least favorite part] was the heat…  we were out there in the mornings and in the evenings, and it was so hot… during the afternoons, when it was hottest, we were inside, but other than that we were outside,” said Lin Howard, sophomore Color Guard member. 

Marching students had a few special events throughout the summer, like parties and performances. 

“One of the ways that we ended the band camp season was by having a party where we all just got to sort of have fun together without worrying about band,” Howard said. 

With new freshmen joining the band team this year, there was a big opportunity to meet different people and make new friends. 

“I met a lot of new people… because when you’re in this whole entire band, including sophomores, seniors, all the grade levels – when you’re with that many people, it’s such a new experience… I can actually reach out and ask people [for help] very easily,” said Balang. 

Overall, band camp was a helpful experience for many band members and a good preview of the year to come. While performance season still hasn’t started, the band is preparing to perform even today. Until then, watch the band perform at halftime shows during varsity football games at the Star!