Fans pack gym twice for Indoor Marching Band Concert
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA — NRHEG High School Band members donned masks, above, and generally had fun and displayed pride during the Indoor Marching Band Concert Nov. 19 and 20. Below, Director Tim Siewert presents Hans Frank the award for Panther of the Year. (Star Eagle photos by Chris Schlaak)
By NICOLE BILLING
Editorial Assistant
The NRHEG High School Band had its annual Indoor Marching Band concert on Monday, November 19 and Tuesday, November 20 in New Richland. The concert began at 7:30 p.m. with the doors opening for the public at 7.
This year, the school made an exective decision to host the concert two nights, due to how popular it has been in the previous years. The concert was a success again this year with two bleachers filled both nights.
This year’s theme included songs from the movie The Phantom of the Opera.
The first group to perform was the jazz band, which performed four songs. They played songs such as “That’s How We Roll” and “Gospel John.”
During a musical break, the band director, Tim Siewert, made some announcements and talked about how much the kids had prepared for the concert.
“They practice really hard every year and the performances are always well done,” said Siewert.
The next group to perform was the seniors. They played “Trashin’ the Camp,” from the movie Tarzan.
After setting up their music stands, the seniors left the area to stand in a line before walking to their appointed stands while playing. The seniors really got into the performance, striving to make the audience laugh and enjoy themselves.
After the seniors’ performance, the drum line set up. They played the song “Blazed Blues” by Joe and Josh Horvath.
As they were setting up Siewert said, “The drum line is very close. While they may have their ups and downs, they’re all like family and get along pretty well.”
After the drum line presentation, the color guard performed with their flags. Siewert commented that the transition from drum line to color guard was always the easiest, because all they had to do was clear everything away.
The song they preformed to was “Build Me Up Buttercup,” by The Foundations.
After the color guard preformed, Siewert informed the audience that for the next presentation they would be turning out the lights. This signaled the end of the 15-minute intermission. Once everyone was seated again, the lights dimmed and fog started to roll into the gym. The opening song, “The Phantom of the Opera,” began as the marching band came out in masks that covered half of their faces, like in the movie. The lights turned back on slightly as they finished another three songs from the movie.
After this presentation, Siewert presented awards to various students. Awards were:
• Rookie of the year: 9th-grader Nicole Edon
• Most Improved: 11th-grader Morgan Staloch
• Color Guard Member of the Year: 12th-grader Liz Eder
• Panther of the Year: 12th-grader Hans Frank
Next year’s junior drum major will be Aurora Strom. Next year’s color guard captains will be Hailee Mahlman and Jade Hill. Next year’s drum line captain will be Morgan Staloch.
After awards were handed out, the band allowed all kids 12 and younger to come down and dance while the band preformed “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. The kids all had fun, and a few former band members even joined them.
At the end of the concert, the band played “New World Sympathy.” After all the songs were done, the band members from each group of musical instruments did a little skit they had rehearsed as a sendoff and to entertain the audience.