The LHS Band has had a strong start to the 2023 marching season! We have exactly sixty students this year, and we’ve expanded the sousaphone section to five members and the drumline to nine. After our two weeks of band camp this summer, we proudly represented Lyons in the Halstead Old Settlers Parade the Saturday before school started!
The next performances were the Back to School BBQ, Hoisington Labor Day Parade, and the first home football game. While none of these are rated events, they are important for what bands do best (community entertainment and pageantry!), and we have received many compliments from Halstead, Hoisington, and Larned community members. I believe our band does a great job representing Lyons with pride, class, and excellence.
This week, we performed at the State Fair in both the Parade and Arena performances, earning Outstanding ratings for both! The kids have been working very hard each morning to clean the first two parts of our show and learn our marching feature, which we will display at halftime of next Friday’s Homecoming football game after having performed in our community Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally. We will also have the Lyons Alumni Band join us in the stands and on the field for pregame and one halftime tune! The next day, the band will perform briefly at the Fair on the Square—another important community appearance. However, two of our members, Mia Bryant and Marianna Boese, will be absent that Friday and Saturday in order to perform as members of K-State’s All-Star Marching Band at their home football game against UCF! Congrats to both of them!
We will be learning the final section of the drill of our show over the next two weeks, with the goal of having it all learned before September 30, as we were invited by Sterling College to perform our show for halftime at their home football game that day! Their Athletic Director is even feeding the entire band before the game, and we will get to take over pep band duties for the 3rd quarter while their band takes a break! Again, this is a great opportunity for our students to showcase their hard work and talent while representing our school and community!
The following Wednesday, October 4, we will compete in the Emporia State University Marching Festival, and we hope to bring back some awards! That will kick off “Bandtober,” the month of our three marching festivals, culminating with the State Championship on October 28. If you see a marching band member in the halls, give them a high five for all that they do for our school and community!
