The WHHS Marching Blue and Gold is ending its season soon. They have performed well overall, making it to the state finals and nearly obtaining a perfect score earlier this year.

One such member, SENIOR Lonzo Montgomery, has been doing marching band since 2019. He

started as a part of visual ensemble, and the next year became part of the standing band.

 “I was in visual ensemble, so I was responsible for moving all the props around the field. And then [I] was [in] the standing band in 2020. So there was the 2021 season which was just last year with the show, Fortunate Fools, and then now in 2022 with Altered Reality,” Montgomery said.

The shows are decided after the season ends. The new theme gets announced to everyone around the end of summer break, with the band directors and others talking as early as November about possible ideas for the next year’s show.

“We have Andrew Markworth, who writes all of our show music, and then they come together with our visual caption head Kendra Wendeln, to decide drill and like themes for each movement and how things should look and come across on the field,” Montgomery said.

Another marching band member, Claire Wise, ‘27, is a new addition marching band member who is part of the drumline.

“During the first few weeks of it, it’s really difficult because it’s around 90 degrees out. It was hot, and it’s actually very physically draining,”  Wise said.

One big benefit to the marching band for Wise was the connections they made with friends.

“I made a lot of really good friends and it’s always nice to meet good people. The community and music are great. ” Wise said.

However, there are many challenging aspects, such as weather, and its demand on the body.​​

“My brother did it and I thought it was really cool…I thought about quitting a couple times because it was really hard but everybody told me that it gets better and it did. It got cooler out and just the people there,” Wise said.

Montgomery had a similar opinion to the drawbacks of the marching band.

“Sometimes it’s stressful and it’s taxing on the body, but at the end of the day I do have fun doing it with my friends and making memories,” Montgomery said.

Ilsa Boerger, ‘27, is another rookie marching band member.

“It’s very fun. A lot of people might go away from it because it’s a lot of work but while it is true, there are a lot of really good moments like during the dinners or before and after competitions where you really get to hang out with people and it’s very much worth all the work,” Boerger said. 

Boerger thought one of the appeals of the marching band was to increase skill in music.

“The music is definitely really fun. You get to really enjoy the music and it really propels you forward as a musician. You get to increase your skill because you have to really focus on it,” Boerger said.

Boerger also found a very strong connection with the marching band community.

“You go super late into school and you get to hang out with all your friends, so you really get to enjoy it and it’s a lot like a second home,” Boerger said.