For some, Friday nights are ideal for watching their favorite football teams compete for glory. For the EHS Marching Band, Friday nights are warm-ups for future competitions.

Band performances, while full of energy and excitement, can be difficult to follow. They can sometimes appear as only an exhibition of the musical talents of the marching band. Drum majors—the conductors on the podiums who control the music and style of the show—describe the deeper meanings of this year’s show: The War of the Roses.

“(The show) has a kind of Alice in Wonderland theme to it,” drum major Ellie Stamer, senior, said. “It’s sort of a fight between the red and white (roses).”

Drum major Devonte Fuller, junior, said that this story was actually inspired by the fight for the English throne in the 15^th century.

“The show music is rather violent and in your face with a few traitorous undertones in various parts. This year makes me think of turmoil between people and I enjoy being able to, in a sense, play the part of one side in an ongoing fight,” Fuller said.

The Color Guard must work to portray this theme of the show through visual performances that complement the music of the band. The dance, costumes, and equipment that the Guard uses works with the actions of the band to fulfill the overall message of “The War of the Roses.”

“The color guard in the beginning shows more of a graceful look,” senior Raylee Hood, member of color guard, said. “As the third movement comes about, the music gets more intense and we have rifles… to show more of the aggressive side (of the war.)”

Alternatively, the drum majors are able to guide the show through the way they choose to conduct from their podiums. The emotions shown through facial expressions, body language, and conducting are meant to mirror the style of music heard and seen portrayed by the rest of the marching band.

“Heavier and more articulate portions of the show will be conducted with more force and rigidity in my movements, while lyrical and bouncy parts of the show will be conducted with more fluidity and lightness,” Fuller said.

The drum majors work together to create the best marching band possible using these movements.

“We (the drum majors) are the band’s tempo, and we help encourage them to give their best,” Stamer said.

Both Fuller and Stamer look forward to seeing the progress the band will make.

“As the season goes on and the band progresses, everyone will be able to see the full plot that we’ll portray between the instruments themselves and even the drum majors,” Fuller said. “The story line will… clearly be seen through our ‘acting’ on the field. People will be able to tell the theme of the show and all of our current loose ends of the plot will be finished.”

These ‘loose ends of the plot’ can be tied by increased cohesiveness of the band, Fuller said.

“In my opinion, the band could always improve on acting as a unit rather than a large group of individual people,” Fuller said. “It’s important for us to all be in sync and the only way to do that is to have a clear understanding of how the show should be performed.”

Both drum majors believe that unity is one of the most important parts of the show.

“In the end,” Stamer said, “It’s whatever the band and the guard put out on that field… all of the true musicality is up to the band.”

The guard is hard at work leaving everything they can on the field.

The guard needs to improve on staying focused, but this year has been “the most successful we have been as a guard,” Hook said.

The audience plays a big part in the success of the marching band, too. Stamer and Fuller encourage more students to attend band competitions (and this doesn’t include the half-time show at football games).

“You just can’t see it once; there are so many different things happening at once that you’ll notice something new every time,” Stamer said.

The next time the Marching Tigers come on the field, look for more than just shiny instruments—see the story that the band tells.

Band Competition Schedule:

Saturday, Oct. 1: McKendree Preview of Champions at McKendree University

Saturday, Oct. 22: Effingham Marching Hearts Invitational at Effingham High School

Saturday, Oct. 29: Western Illinois Marching Band Classic at Western Illinois University