While many students are enjoying the last week of summer vacation, the Delaware Hayes High School Marching Band was out on the blacktop outside Hayes High School learning its 2019 show “Oddly Enough.”
Director Andy Doherty said the show is a medley of music with odd numbers in the title like the Beethoven’s third, fifth and seventh symphony, as well as contemporary music like “One is the Loneliest Number” by Three Dog Night.
“It’s fun,” Doherty said. “We play through the parts the audience knows and then it changes, you wouldn’t think these songs go together. It’s working out really well.”
Doherty said Monday was the beginning of band camp, where the band will practice from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day to learn the music and drill for the show. Doherty said they got a jump on the material last week during pre-camp when they practiced from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. He added the band will perform the show for the community this Friday at 7 p.m. at the stadium.
The band, drum-line and guard number at 112 this year, the highest since Doherty has been directing.
“It’s awesome,” Doherty said. “They are some really hard workers. It’s a good group, and the music is fun. It’s the whole package, and it’s fun to work on.”
During practice Monday morning, one of the band’s drum majors, senior Lizzy Childers, would move the band back and forth through positions and have them check their positions before telling them to adjust and correct themselves.
“It’s going well so far,” Childers said. “I probably have it a little bit easier than everyone else because I don’t have to march, but I’m really enjoying it and everyone has improved a lot.”
Childers and her fellow drum major Hannah Stoll, a junior, said they are a little nervous about standing on podiums to direct the band.
“It’s a little scary,” Stoll laughed, adding the drum major position is one she had her sights set on. “Becoming drum major has always been a goal of mine because I felt like it would be a good learning experience for me especially since I want to go into music education in college.”
Seniors Alessandro Nocera and Kylie Booth said they are very excited for the music this season, and they think audiences will enjoy it.
“It’s definitely music that people will see and hear and say, ‘Oh, I know that!’” said Kylie Booth, a senior baritone player.
“This show is definitely better than last year’s show,” Nocera, a trumpet player, added. “It’s got a lot of potential.”
Despite marching on blacktop in the sun, while temperatures reached the high 80s, none of the students complained about the heat, citing their freshman year as so brutal that this year isn’t so bad by comparison.
“There were days they just took us inside because it was so horrible out,” Childers said.
Nocera said he was most excited for all the freshmen in the band.
“This is the biggest our band has ever been,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to see a ton of new faces every rehearsal. I’m excited for the first football game of the season, against BV and to see the freshman at their first performance ever.”
The students said that this year, each day of band camp has a theme. Monday’s theme was beach day, Tuesday is Twin Day, Wednesday is Wacky Wednesday, Thursday is Movie Character Day, and Friday is Section Matching Day.
Booth and Stoll said the section leaders came up with the ideas for the theme days to add more fun to band camp.
“I better win Twin Day!” Booth said.
The gates open at 6:30 p.m. for the band’s performance Friday. The show begins at 7 p.m.
