SLHS Marching band makes big comeback at the first home game of the year!

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Marching Band gathers on the SLHS homefield.

McKenzie Reid, Staff Writer

St. Louis High School’s marching band had its first performance of the year at Thursday night’s home football game Sept. 2 . The band had a rocky marching season last year with only one performance that band teacher Mr. Lawhorne was unable to attend. Furthermore, a thriving concert season was brought to a screeching halt in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. The high school’s band students and enthusiastic teacher are working hard to make this season unforgettable.

According to first-year band student Kaydence Heiden, “I think the performance went really well.” They added, “I was nervous about my first performance because I was afraid of messing up,” the cymbal player said. Sophomore flute player Lillie Thayer and Junior trumpet player Danielle Thelen both agree that the band will do much better next game with more practice.

“The trumpet section did great!” Thelen states. “We were loud, and we got to the right place at the right time together,” she says.

“The crowd seemed to enjoy [the performance] quite a bit, so there’s that,” Senior Demetrius Alspaugh remarks. “I wasn’t particularly nervous. When you’ve been in band for four years, you tend to know what to expect,” he adds. This is Alspaugh’s final year in marching band, which he has actively participated in throughout all of his years in high school, playing the baritone. “It’s a little scary being in my last year of high school, but it’s nice to see how well everyone is doing and how far I’ve come as a band player. I’m excited to play for the rest of the year,” he concludes. The band members, however, weren’t the only people enthusiastic about the performance.

“I quite enjoyed watching the colorguard. I’ve always loved watching them,” says Junior Sarah Corson, who watched the band’s performance with the student section. “I am looking forward to hyping up the band at the next game!”

“We were well supported by everyone! The comments about how nice we sounded and how the band was missed last year were really great to hear,” says band teacher Mr. Lawhorne. “I was mainly concerned about the fact that it had been two years since we had a “normal” football season…and even then, we were lightning delayed, cancelled, and flooded out of our home field. Being away from performances and procedures is difficult,” he adds. 

Additionally, Mr. Lawhorne missed the only performance the marching band had last year due to COVID complications, and was very happy to be able to see his students perform this year. He concludes, I was very pleased with the marching band performance at our first home football game. Performances during the first week of school are always challenging.”