Marching Band
I have participated in the Walkerville High School Lions Marching Band for the last two years and plan to participate for the next two years. This provided me with a lot of new and great friends in a new school. Our marching show my freshmen year, Pure Imagination, was based on the shows Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Wicked. That year, I played in the front percussive ensemble, also known as the pit. In the pit, I learned how to play mallet instruments (xylophone, bells, vibraphone, marimba, etc.), cymbals, and timpani. It was an interesting experience to learn new instruments.
This year, our show, What If, was based on background music from the movie Snow White and the Huntsman. This year, I finally got the experience to march. I played my clarinet in the show, and the difficult music caused me to improve exponentially from previous years.
This upcoming year the show will have a big band feel. I am trying out to be the drum major, who is the person who conducts the band. I am competing against three other of my fellow band members, one other sophomore and two juniors. If I do not succeed at becoming drum major this year, I will be playing the Soprano Saxophone. It is similar to the clarinet in shape and in the fingerings for most of the notes, but it sounds jazzier and is naturally louder than the clarinet.
Theater
While I have done marching band in the fall, I have done the two musicals in the spring of the last two years. Freshman year, we did the musical How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. In the show, I only had a small scattering of lines and several different names for the characters that said them. I mostly participated in ensemble songs. My favorite songs from the show would be I Believe in You and Brotherhood of Men.
This year, we did the musical Footloose. In the show, I was character named Wes Warnicker, who was the uncle of the main character. Although it was also a small role and was not in any songs, I participated in the ensemble numbers. My favorite songs from this show are I'm Free/Heaven Help Me, and Let's Hear It for the Boy.
I do not know the show for next year, but I plan on being even more involved by participating in the fall play and maybe one of the winter one act plays.