Last year, one of the more successful Newsome teams was the marching band. Not only did they have notably amazing performances during the football games hyping up the crowds, but they also enjoyed success in competitions.
They won the FSU Seminole competition, were runner ups for percussion and musical performance at the regional finals and received a superior mark at MPA (which is the highest grade a band can receive). However, the band just narrowly missed the state finals, coming up just 0.25 points short.
Senior Sammy Patel, who is co-president and a section leader for the band, believes that missing the finals last year could be a blessing in disguise, however, as he stated, “It was a real downer, but we’re just more invigorated this year to do better.” He went on to say that the band is aspiring to not only make the state finals this year, but also to finish at least in the top 3 in the state.
While this may seem like a lofty goal, Patel and other members of the band have nothing but confidence about the upcoming season. For instance, newly crowned drum major Beck Waldman (senior) stated that, “We’ve been working really hard since mid-July to get our show on the field.” It was apparent that Waldman believes all that hard work will pay off when competition time rolls around.
However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows for the team. Senior Connor Edwards, who leads the woodwind section for the Wolfpack, mentioned that morale on the team has been slightly dipping in the past weeks. He went on to say that this was mostly due to, “…the intense heat and long practices that we’ve had to endure through.” Said practices usually last three and a half to four hours, mostly in the heat after the school day ends. However, these intense practices do have a bright side, as Edwards went on to say, “The long practices are tough, but they’ve created a stronger sense of cooperation between members, making them worth it.”
During these practices, band director Dr. Joshua Cutting has been having the band mostly stick to what worked for them last year. However, fans of the songs at the football games will not be disappointed, as Connor Edwards said, “…we have some new songs that we’ll be playing in the stands that hopefully everyone will enjoy.”
In addition to Dr. Cutting, many staff members have been assisting the band in making sure that they are ready for the long season ahead. Most of these staff members are professionals in specific instruments, which Connor Edwards said has made the band sound so much more polished and professional. Most of said staff members are also new to the band, coming from USF to impart their wisdom on the young Wolves.
Another thing changing this year is the theme of the show. While Sammy Patel and others in the band pushed for the show to be superhero themed, it was not met to be due to copyright laws. Luckily, the theme they settled on sounds enthralling as well: New York.
When talking to members of the band, it became clear to see that while they do enjoy performing at football games, the thing everyone is really focused and excited about is the competition aspect of the band. Connor Edwards said that the competitions are so enjoyable because, “Working towards something for so long and finally seeing your work pay off in an activity you enjoy is definitely what I look forward to.”
Overall, it seems that the marching band is once again positioned to be incredibly successful, both on the football field and in competitions.