OH’s Panther Marching Band earned second place at the Northern Illilnois University (NIU) Red & Black competition even as they fought against rain, nerves, and eight other bands in their 3A class on Sept. 20.
OH Senior Liam Cooley, a percussionist and drum line member in the band, said the competition is “super important. I’m always enjoying going to our competitions.”
The Northern Illinois Red & Black competition, held at NIU’s Huskie Stadium, provided students with the opportunity to showcase their talents and skills in marching band.
“I think we did really well,” said OH Senior Vanessa Driscoll. “The rain obviously impacted how well we did, [but we still] got second place. I heard we were only one tenth away from first place.”
This event was a significant opportunity for students to be recognized by college-level educators in one of the Midwest’s premier venues.
The competition began at 6:00 PM, and Oswego performed at 8:00 PM when it began to rain. The inconvenience of the weather had an effect on the students’ performance as they struggled to hear the band and had slippery instruments.
The marching band was the only group that got caught up in the rain, and the marching band did a wonderful job recovering from this event. Regardless of the conditions they had to face.
“The weather had a slight effect on our band, like the electronics such as the speakers and piano, which is a huge part of our performance,” said Driscoll. Some of the music was cut out due to the rain. Like the piano, which is a key part of their performance, was entirely shut down.
The show this year was based on a few classical musical excerpts from different composers, and the writer combined a few songs that were arranged into a final piece.
The importance of this event reflected on the band’s performance; their drive and determination brought them to the top. Not even the rain could bring the team down.
The marching band has been working hard for this competition and for five days a week for two weeks. They were working from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM while staying hydrated and well rested.
The group usually practices during the school year every Monday and Thursday for two and a half hours for another three months before the competition.
The Panther Marching Band was runner-up to Romeoville High School in the 3A class.
Hello! My name is Jessica Bellah and I'm a senior and this is my first year on 42Fifty Staff. You can contacts me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
I am a junior staff reporter on 42Fifty. I love art and music! You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and my putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feekback on our publication.
