Since July, the Hayes marching band has been hard at work with their new show. Based on the Looney Tunes short, “What’s Opera, Doc?,” their show retells the story of Elmer Fudd’s hunt for the wabbit, reimagined with elements from popular 19th-century operas.
Throughout the show, audiences will recognize many familiar classical motifs, such as the “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Ride of the Valkyries,” along with inspiration from Richard Wagner’s various operas.
“When I first heard the recording, I thought it was really cool. It’s a lot different than the other stuff we’ve done,” horn captain Wyatt Kumpf said. “It’s some of the most fun music I’ve played.”.
Consisting of four acts, the show depicts each segment of the film it draws inspiration from, starting from the top with a peaceful waltz and ending with a chaotic chase.
It features two solos on trumpet, played by sophomore Genevieve Sauer and section leader Eugene Toth, as well as a baritone solo provided by low brass section leader Tyler Cuffle.
After achieving an excellent rating at their first two competitions of the year, Hayes band director William Fowles said he expects great things from the band going forward.
“My expectations are through the roof,” Fowles said. “We’ve got some great opportunities coming up to really impress some people, and have some superior results.”
The band once again aims for a superior performance this weekend at River View.
Compared to last year, this year’s show is a breath of fresh air for many players.
“It’s a lot more playful and fun sounding than last year’s,” Kumpf said. “I think we’ve done really well, it’s probably the best we’ve ever been at this point in the year.”
The band has been practicing for almost 3 months and currently has their entire show on the field.
“The show has a really fast tempo, [and] we have really cool parts,” freshman mellophone player Hayden Baughman said. “There are just a few things that people need to catch up on. Otherwise it’s gone pretty well.”
Kumpf is also optimistic about the quality of the show at this point in the season.
“Everything is going super well… the freshmen have learned super quickly and have really great enthusiasm,” Kumpf said.
The band practices every day of the week after school, with the exception of Tuesdays, along with undergoing the three-week long camp in July before the start of the school year.
Band camp is often a tough adjustment for incoming freshmen, but this year they’ve advanced in record time.
“I was expecting a lot of setbacks and frustrations… as it kept going I realized it wasn’t that bad,” Baughman said. “It was intimidating, but I warmed up to it.”
Other than welcoming new freshmen, the band also gained a new assistant band director, Zachary Wilkins, and a new colorguard director, Johnette Kesterson.
Prior to coming to Hayes, Wilkins taught at Lexington High school for 9 years, served as an OMEA (Ohio Music Association) adjudicator, and was a member of The Ohio State University Marching Band. On the other hand, Kesterson has been coaching guard for almost 3 years now, teaching both younger students and adult classes.
Despite all of the new arrivals and changes in leadership, the band has been doing better than ever.
“This year there’s just this sense of wanting to achieve a common goal… We have a direction, we know where we’re going,” Fowles said. “People say change is hard, but sometimes change is good.”
