This year’s show consists of five solos and a duet. These solos include color guard solos, instrumental solos/duet, and even a singing solo! These solos/duets are each amazing and special. I got a wonderful opportunity to sit down and talk to each person individually and I really enjoyed talking to each of them. Here is what each of them had to say: 

Tripp Leffler is a soloist for this year’s show. He is a sophomore and he plays the baritone sax. He plays the baritone sax because he has always enjoyed playing low reed, and it is enjoyable to him. He said he joined the marching band because “I was peer pressured into it in 7th grade and it’s basically just been fun ever since”. He enjoys having a solo, but he said it can be stressful at times. I then asked him if he ever believed he would have such a big part in a show and he said, “As a low reed player we never really get solos, so it’s interesting”. His favorite part about being in marching band is getting to perform in front of his friends and family. Personally he believes that the band does not get enough attention and it could be shown a little more attention and appreciation. He wants people to know that “We put in a lot more work than people tend to believe.” His favorite part of the show is the second movement because it is very emotional. I then asked him how it feels to have such a big part in the show and only be a sophomore and he said, “It is really odd, but it’s a neat experience without a doubt”. He is more nervous for competitions because people know what they are doing there and he feels like they are more hypercritical there. He thinks that this year’s show is very unique and he hasn’t seen any Mr. Rogers themed shows because they always seem to be rock based. The next question I asked was “what does the band mean to you?” Tripp then stated “It’s about a bigger experience” You can see Tripp perform in the third movement of the show which is Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. 

Breniyah Calaway is a color guard soloist for this year’s show, and she is a senior. You can see her perform at the end of the show. She likes having a solo and thinks it is very fun. She joined color guard because one summer her sister told her about color guard and throwing flags and it seemed fun to her. She then found out our school had a color guard. She tried out, and has enjoyed it since then. This year she is looking forward to getting more people into color guard. Out of football games and competitions, she is more nervous for competitions. Here is what she said, “Football games I am not nervous because I know it’s me working to get better for competitions. But at competitions, it’s my third year so I am kind of used to it. I know what to expect, but on my first year I was nervous. So I would have to say I am more nervous on competition days.” Her favorite part is the rife work (Movement 3; Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger) because she thinks it is very upbeat. Here is what Breniyah had to say for something she wants people to know about the band, color guard and show: “Just because it may look easy, it’s really not because we work really hard; especially during band camp. The football players are like ‘How do yall work in the heat for that long?’. Even football players say we deserve more. You meet a lot of friends in band, and you get to meet other people at competitions and football games when we play against each other. It is really fun to go to away games.” Her favorite thing about band and color guard is the band camp; even though it is 13 hour days for a week, but the activities they do make up for it. This is what color guard and band mean to her; “I guess it means alot because I really found myself being here. Especially 9th grade; plus my mom told me I need to be in school activities so I think my character really developed here in marching band.” Breniyah does not think the band and color guard get the attention they deserve, and she thinks they deserve more. She added, “People will be like ‘Aren’t you that band kid?. I am like ‘no I am a kid in band, but I am not a band kid’. Another thing I am mad about is how football players and basketball players get their letterman for free, but marching band; even though we play as many hours as they do, we don’t get our letterman for free.” 

Gibson Krolikowski is a sophomore and he has a solo, as well as a duet with Aly Dalton. He plays the french horn, and he chose to play it because he thought it was really cool and one of his best friends older brother played french horn. He said he joined marching band because “I joined because my older sister was in it for like 5 years and I was like ok I guess I have to now.” His opinion on his duet with Aly is that it is pretty cool, and he agrees with what Aly said about it making them closer because they didn’t talk much before. He never believed he would have a part like this when he was younger. He wants you all to know that you should come see the show, and Aly agreed with him on this. His favorite part about being in the band is being able to hang out with people and his friends. This is Gibson’s opinion on if the band gets the attention/ appreciation they deserve: “Yes. I think we deserve a little bit more still but it’s better than it has been.” His favorite part of the show is the second movement because he thinks it is intimate.” Having a duet and a solo as a sophomore is pretty cool; “Because I am not old and broken. It’s fun, I think it’s pretty cool. I can do it as a sophomore, and do it with her because she is a senior and that’s pretty swag.” He is more nervous for competitions, but it depends on how many fans are at the football games. For Gibson, being a part of the band means (even though it sounds cheesy to him) being a part of a family; “I think band is kind of swag. In a sense it is like a family. I know that is t

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Tripp Leffler

he most overused thing when talking about something like this. It is like a high school movie from the 80’s. Everybody kind of vibes together for the most part, and it’s a pretty understanding group. It’s a pretty safe

space I think.”

Aly Dalton is a senior and she has a duet with Gibson Krolikowski. She plays the flute, however she didn’t really want to play the flute. She was more into saxophone, but chose flute anyway. She joined marching band because of the people, but specifically because of her best friend Cheyenne. Aly having a duet with Gibson is cool, and it has made them closer as friends just being able to vibe. She never believed she would have a part like this ether because she has always doubted herself as a flute player. Her favorite part about being in the band is the bus rides. Her opinion on if the band gets the appreciation/attention they deserve: “Recently maybe. The student section at the football games has been a lot more cheery towards us, but yeah I feel like it’s getting more attention. It’s better than it has been.” She likes the mosh pit section of the show the best because she likes the visuals of it. She also said, “And it’s the one part that people are really going to stick with and be like ‘Oh my gosh did you see the way they moved!’.” For her being a senior and having a duet is kind of sentimental; “It’s like oh my senior year I get a good duet with a sophomore player. I think it is very rewarding to know that senior year I get something a little special.” She loves everything about the theme of this year’s show; what it stands for, the uniqueness of the show. I think it is a great time.” She is more nervous for competitions because she utra focuses on things and her mind is going 70 miles per hour. However, if someone from her family or important to her is in the crowd at the football games, she is more nervous there. To her, being a part of the band means everything! “Anything I do is literally band. It has given me a safe place, it has literally been my life for the last 4 years. It’s very open, it’s very safe for everyone; a majority of the time. It gives you a lot; it gives you a family.” 

Micah Trump is a sophomore and he has a singing solo! His solo appears in the 2nd movement ‘It’s Such a Good Feeling’ by Fred Rogers. When he isn’t singing his solo, Micah plays the saxophone. He said he chose saxophone because “I started playing it in 6th grade mainly because it looked really cool and whenever I thought of saxophones I thought of cool guys wearing aviator sunglasses just going crazy. I have yet to play it while wearing aviators.” He joined marching band in the 8th grade, but had to take a break his 9th grade year because of theater. However, he is back this year and trying to make it all work. He joined marching band because he already loved playing saxophone,his friends told him to do it, and he thought it sounded like fun. His favorite part about the band is the people and the social aspect of it. For his opinion on if the band gets the attention and appreciation they deserve he said, “ Oh absolutely not! I think football is given way too much and frankly the band does better than our football team. I swear. We do better when we compete then our football team does when they play.  And new stadiums, new stands for the football team. Sure we get to use them, but we only have a set amount of time to play our show, something we have been working on for a long time, we put in as much work outside of school as the football team does. We are here early mornings, late nights, sometimes morning to morning, all the way. We do a lot of work for not as much recognition as I think we should get.” Micah’s favorite part of the show is the first movement of Tripp’s saxophone solo. He is more nervous about competitions than games. He added “Competition days because the nerves for everyone else are higher, and as woodwind captain as well; I have to make sure they don’t panic and forget what they are supposed to be doing. Focus is something that we have to remember on competition days too because if we stop for lunch; people are g

oing to get distracted from what our goal should be, which is doing well in the competition. So definitely competition days.” He thinks having a vocal solo and only being a sophomore is fun. He has been singing for a while, so being young and doing this isn’t really a big deal. He enjoys having a solo because; “Yes. It can be stressful at times. It’s a lot harder to break a saxophone than it is to break your voice. And I talk a lot. My hobbies are theater and band. In theater I talk a lot, I talk a lot at school, so I kind of have to keep my voice safe unlike my saxophone which is a lot easier.” Then I asked him if he ever believed he would have a vocal solo and he said, “I mean Carson had been teasing at it for a while. He said he wanted to have a singing part in the show. And at the time I was the only vocalist standing in his office with him, while he decided to do it. It’s fun and I love it! I didn’t expect it.” Something Micah would like people to know about the band, show, and his solo is; “The solo is in a different key than I expected and I am asked to sing it differently than I expected as well. I thought it would be in the original key that Mr. Rogers sang it, but not really because it’s high. But it’s really fun. The show in general, I think it’s a really cool show. Actually this isn’t even the show that we planned on doing. It was completely different, not a month or so before band camp. The tag when the front ensemble is playing at the end ‘It’s you I like, Not the things you wear’ is what the show was focused on not ‘It’s Such a Good Feeling’. But then he changed it all around and made me sing. Which I think is pretty fun.” The last question I asked him was “What does being a part of the band mean to you”. He replied, “It’s just that a lot of us are here with our friends, doing what we love. That’s what it is for me. I am just a really social person and the different opportunities we get with band I think are really cool.” 

Last but definitely not least we have Alisha Crump. Alisha is a junior and she has a color guard solo. She joined color guard because when she first saw the color guard perform she knew she wanted to be a part of it. She loves having a solo and thinks she has worked really hard for it. She said being chosen her second year for a solo is amazing. Next year she is looking forward to getting a chance to be captain and have a successful year. This is what she had to say about how much attention/appreciation the band gets and if they deserve more; “I think we deserve a lot more credit than we get. We work so hard to put on a good show and people don’t even take it seriously.” Out of games and competitions she is more nervous for the games because she knows more people in the stadiums. However at competitions she doesn’t know the people watching and she will probably never see them again. Her favorite part of the show is the rifle line as well. Even though she thinks she isn’t that good at it, she likes to learn new things and rifle is challenging to learn. Her favotite part about being in band and color guard is being apart of something that matters; like color guard.