Hayes’ marching band show requires over 100 hours of work, and this year is no exception. The production, The Girl in Red, tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but with a slight twist.
The fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood traditionally follows how the wolf ate the grandmother and was ultimately killed by the huntsman. However, the story is told a little differently with the band. With the guard as Little Red, and the percussion section as the wolf, the band portrays the characters as childhood friends, playing a game of cat and mouse on the field.
“It’s a lot of fun to play. When [Fowles] did the show reveal, I was kind of skeptical, but it’s turning out really well now that we’re halfway through the season,” trumpet section leader and senior Caden Wiant said.
Different from past years, the percussionists are the main feature, as they play a key role in the storyline. Even so, each section gets their own feature in due time.
“I think every year is different because you’ve got different kids that are in it. You’ve got different music abilities, different thematic materials,” assistant band director Alan Notestine said. “We always try to look at their group that we have and say ‘Okay, what music sort of fits our personnel?’ Because we don’t want to have something that has a screeching saxophone line if we don’t have saxophones that can carry it, for example.”
There will be four soloists; two horn players, a flautist and another woodwind player yet to be announced. These soloists will be embodied as a “girl-skipping-through-the-forest,” a nod back to Little Red Riding Hood. There will also be a fair amount of dance, flag and rifle solos as well as a saber duet from the guard.
Because of the vast size of the marching band this year, there has been a considerable amount of help from other directors to get the show up to par. There are almost 130 students in the band and the guard team this year, and the help of directors is much needed. Aside from having two band directors and guard instructor, the band welcomed two new mentors for their show this year.
“Going forward, we have got a percussion instructor this year, one that is in charge of the battery. They oversee all of the drums on the field,” band director Bill Fowles said. “We [also] have another [director] that oversees our front ensemble.”
The show, arranged by CJ Barrow and Michael J. Miller, consists of four acts. With the whole show lasting just over seven minutes, each act showcases a different part of the fairytale from the wolf’s perspective. The music contains recognizable songs such as “Bury a Friend” by Billie Eilish.
Act One, split into parts A and B, begins with a silly attitude, which gradually transitions into Act Two, which has a more serious and scarier mood than the first. The ballad of Act Three completely shifts the tone by being slower, with multiple guard solos mixed in it. The dramatic finish in Act Four concludes the show with the wolf escaping from Red, but then returning to play with her. During each of these acts, the ensemble tell the story in more depth by their formations on the field: creating pictures based on where they’re standing relative to each other.
“The last few years [of band shows] have been really bright and definitely very happy,” Wiant said. “This year has been very horror-themed, with [the story of] Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf. The music definitely reflects that; it’s very aggressive.”
Band members practice together almost every day after school, along with learning the basics of drill during their summer band camp in July. The 3-week-long camp brings almost 130 band members together for 11 hours a day at first, which gradually simmers down to a solid six hours per week during the school year.
“Our show probably won’t be on the field completely until the end of September,” Fowles confirmed.
Even though the show isn’t fully completed yet, students are having fun learning their respective parts and drill while still balancing their practice times inside of and outside school. Some students go the extra mile and practice for hours each day, while others focus more on certain parts of the show, creating the repetition they will need for the rest of their music careers.
“When we don’t have practice after school, some [members] practice at home,” freshman guard member Kayden Jones said. “[Personally], I go home and practice for an hour or two, maybe just in my backyard, running through the [routine] that we worked on [after school].”
The guard consists of 15 members across all four grade levels, as well as one eighth grader from Demspey, who auditioned to join the guard. This year the guard received their uniforms earlier than usual, on Aug. 29. The uniforms, red dresses with a red hood, portray Little Red Riding Hood herself. Last year, the guard didn’t receive their uniforms until halfway through the season.
Student leadership within the band is also necessary to help things run smoothly between all of the different sections.
“Last year I was the only section leader for the trumpets, but this year, there’s four trumpet section leaders,” Wiant said. “It’s definitely crucial that all the student leaders work together because that’s how you run the band. Yeah, Fowles is giving all the direction, but the section leaders … are the people who really are teaching these freshmen how to march and play music.”
Within the marching band, whether it be in guard or otherwise, there are usually sectionals to help the students learn their parts better. For Wiant, sectionals mean working together with the brass players, but sometimes subsectionals are needed to help people on their more specific-to-their-instrument parts.
The band has already performed at two football games this year, but still has a lot to work on to get the show up to standards the students set for themselves as well as being ready for OMEA competitions. The band strives for yet another superior rating, and has so far not scored lower in the past two years.
“It’s definitely one of my favorite shows so far,” Wiant said.
