designer: Nathan Chow
The crowd is waiting expectantly as she waits anxiously behind the curtain. One wrong move or note results in complete humiliation.
Her friends and family didn’t come all this way just to see her freeze up and fail. However, it’s her first performance and she’s never been more nervous.
Luckily, her section leader notices her nervous pacing and talks to her, calming her down right before the show begins. The curtains draw back, and it all comes back to her. The crowd cheers, and she’s never been happier.
This is what many band members, especially new ones, experience before their yearly showcase at Friday Night Live. The band has taken copious amounts of effort and practice to bring a fun and vivid experience to the audience.
Senior Neil Hariths is both a band member and section leader this year after three years of performing in Friday Night Live. Hariths makes new member’s first Friday Night Live experience as calming and fun as he can by reassuring their minds.
“Playing so close to so many people for the first time can be a little nerve-racking at first, so the most important thing I can do is to really just make sure everyone is relaxed and ready to have fun,” saxophone-player Hariths said.
However, the moments before the performance are only a fraction of the actual moments of preparation prior to the show. Band director Dr Ishbah Cox explains the large amounts of effort and preparation the band takes weeks before the performance in order to give the best experience to their audience.
“Even at games just reviewing music because it’s the capstone of our entire season,” Cox said.
Where Friday Night Live differs from the band’s typical football performances are the purpose and the venue. Friday Night Live is an opportunity to highlight the band and its hard work throughout the season in which it performs in the theater, contrary to the usual football field.
“We’ve prepared for FNL throughout the season by playing our shows and practicing for hours every day, but in the weeks leading up to it, we’ll have hours of rehearsal every night, and really make sure every last detail is perfect,” Hariths said.
For a lot of band members, this show is extra special since it’s their last show before they graduate and maybe even forever. Because of this, they are given a special feature in the show.
Hariths said that the seniors have “a really touching tribute.”
But as far as the show as a whole goes, this year’s theme is said to be inspired off a viral TikTok trend “What Are You Listening To?”. The theme includes music fit for all members of the audience with songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s.
After grabbing inspiration from the TikTok video “we decided to go with that and decided to hit decades that we think the majority of people would enjoy,” Cox said.
This year’s Friday Night Live has come with a lot of preparation and effort from all parts of the band. The marching band would love for you to attend one of its four performances between Nov. 17 and Nov. 20.
“It’s a really fun environment and hearing the music up close and personal is so much different than any way you’ve heard it,” Hariths said.
