On Oct. 10, as the bustling crowd in the football stadium applauded, junior TJ Polack took his place on stage during halftime to deliver his solo. The applause died down as the 2024 marching band show...
I had my first dance recital when I was five years old. My mother likes to remind me that she thought I had the best costume: a black and white tulle dress, pink bows on my tap shoes and a feather in my...
While living with alumnus Luke Whitten’s family for her junior year, Thai exchange student Aim Achalapong has joined the marching band as a synthesizer player.
After encouragement from her dad to...
Dani Fischer, MANAGING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
• October 24, 2017
Saturdays are usually reserved for sleeping in, hanging out with friends, and catching up on sleep. This Saturday, however, the marching band earned the Best Auxiliary Award at the Jaguar Pride Marching...
Hannah Hoffmann, TECHNICAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
• September 8, 2017
For sophomore Vickey Karl, summer meant memorizing six pages of music on a vibraphone and learning her performance part for the 2017-2018 season of band. Summer also brought about the sudden news that...
Nell Jaskowiak, OPINIONS AND ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
• September 16, 2016
Before school on Friday, Sept. 16, the marching band paraded through the hall playing pep songs typically performed during football games. Every year, homecoming spirit day is marked by drum cadences echoing...
![Junior TJ Polack plays his saxophone solo at halftime for the 2024 marching band show, ‘Coloring Book.’ This year, Polack was one of two soloists in the marching band. “[Polack] is very hard on himself. [His saxophone solo] sounds amazing [and] everyone [cheers] for him; [still], somehow, he thinks it’s a bad performance and he's down. What he does is not easy. It takes a lot of confidence as a person [and] a lot of musical skill to be expressive, and he's doing an amazing job,” drum major and senior Dominic Perez said. (Courtesy of Christina Block)](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/462488499_2973926416100522_5057718068659607183_n-1200x925.jpg)
![Arms outstretched, senior drum major Dom Perez stands high above the ground while conducting the marching band during rehearsal. To improve his performance and gain confidence as a leader, Perez attended a specialized camp over the summer with drum majors around the country. “[Being the drum major,] has been the biggest step out of my comfort zone in my entire life. I'm constantly learning from the things I do and trying to be a better person, better leader [and] better musician every day. It's the very end of the season, and I've put so many hours into learning how to be a good leader and conductor, and all that has helped me have the best season I can. I feel like I've given it my absolute best all the way through,” Perez said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DomPerezPOTW-1200x800.jpg)
![“I’m really enjoying my band classes. I'm taking both Concert and Jazz Band. I'm really having fun playing in both of those and having that community. I am in marching band and so having been able to meet people before the school year and go around the school and meet actually a couple of my teachers. It was just kind of special and nice to be able to form those relationships and be able to know who I can truly come to if I need to. I guess [people who inspire me are] the upperclassmen who I'm friends with. Just being able to see them work through like their own work and talk about the classes that they're taking and seeing them do their work whenever they can. I guess it's one of my big motivators because it kind of gives me a look into what I'll be expecting over my next four years, and it just gives me a bit of a view." - Rowan Ravenscraft, 9](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rowen-Ravenscraft-grade-9-1200x800.jpg)
