Heights Marching Huskies To Compete At State Fair Band Day, First Time In History

Sheridan Blackhawks

Return to Band Day

By Betsy Reason

As a former member of the Hamilton Heights Marching Band, the district’s Superintendent Derek Arrowood is super excited about the Marching Huskies competing this Friday at the Indiana State Fair Band Day, for the first time in school history.

The last time a band from either Jackson Township or White River Township competed at the State Fair Band Day was as the Jackson Central High School Marching Eagles “we believe in 1963,” Arrowood said. Another tidbit he shared: Hamilton Heights School Corp. Board President Arnett Cooper was playing trumpet in that band.

Current Hamilton Heights marching band directors Mark Snelson and Billy Cox “have done a fantastic job at leading our band program into the competitive arena with lots of success the last couple of years in drumline competitions,” Arrowood said.

Snelson, who has been at Heights for four-and-a-half years, is the third long-term band director at HHHS since the early 1980s and follows in the legendary footsteps of previous Heights band directors Chris Noble and Craig Waltz, “who I am sure are excited to see this progression in our band program,” Arrowood said. Cox has been at Heights for four years.

At Friday’s Indiana State Fair Band Day competition, of the 37 marching high school bands to compete, only two hail from Hamilton County. Hamilton Heights Marching Huskies will compete at 3:09 p.m., and Sheridan Marching Blackhawks will compete at 9:45 a.m.

For the Marching Huskies, the State Fair Band Day is “the next step in the evolution of our program,” Snelson said.

“We have great kids in our program doing great things, so we wanted to offer them more opportunities to be a part of something,” he said. “As much as we have enjoyed watching a few of our kids participate in other local groups, the past couple of summers, it was time to provide that outlet at home. And since we’ve seen so much success in the indoor percussion realm, this was the next logical step.”

Part of competing at the State Fair Band Day is coming up with a theme.

“Since this is our first year of competition, it was very difficult to find the right show,” Snelson said.

“We didn’t know how many kids would be interested or what our talent level would be until students committed to the group,” Snelson said. “From there, we shopped around for music, checking websites of composers who we were familiar with, and listening to past shows they had written. In hindsight, we were able to pick the perfect show for our group. The kids seem to enjoy it and it continues to push each individual beyond their abilities. We then hired a drill writer that both directors have used virtually our entire career, who always does a great job. Once the show begins to evolve, we make more specific choices as to the theme and concept of the show. However, in most instances, the show title sets the stage for where things will lead conceptually and visually.”

Heights’ State Fair show is titled, “The Elements of Feng Shui.” The band director said, “Each movement develops a concert of harmony and balance between a variety of elements … wood, metal, earth, water and fire.”

The music composer and drill writer are familiar with the Central Indiana Track Show Association and State Fair circuit. So part of their service includes trimming down the show music close to four minutes, which is the minimum time needed for competition.

It takes lots of bodies to put on the show. Each student is assigned with a task for setup and exiting the performance area. Parents also volunteer to fill in the gaps by assisting students with moving equipment.

A drum major, 15 wind instruments, eight battery percussion and 13 in the percussion pit make up the Huskies marching band in the show.

The band department purchased uniform tops from Northwestern High School with the specific purpose to wear for the 2023 indoor percussion season and this summer’s marching season. The costumes are orange that fade to yellow with a black-lined pattern. The costumes are very lightweight with the intention to be much cooler for summer competition.

The band is ready for Friday’s Band Day. Music rehearsals started in May to teach musical warmups and to begin basic fundamentals of marching. There was a hiatus in June for time away, vacations and show planning. Band camps began on July 5 with 12 rehearsals to learn the entire show and to be ready for their first competition.

Snelson said, “We are super excited about this group of kids and all they have accomplished in this short amount of time. They are fun to work with, hardworking and they keep coming back each day with a great attitude.” Snelson said the band members have “absorbed an insane amount of knowledge quickly” and improve at every rehearsal.

“We would not be prouder,” Snelson said.

Over the weekend, Heights Marching Huskies competed and earned 17th place of 25 bands in Anderson and earned 14th out of 20 bands in Winchester.

This week at Hamilton Heights, the band will have a rehearsal and final performance run-through, prior to departure, that is open to the public.

On Band Day, the weather forecast calls for temperatures in the lower 80s. While the costumes were chosen for summertime, in extreme heat, the band would wear marching pants with white compression T-shirts or show shirts, or even black shorts, Snelson said. To keep the band members hydrated, band boosters travel with coolers and water to most events.

At Sheridan High School, band director Libby Doublestein has been getting her band members prepared for another State Fair Band Day. In 2022, Sheridan Marching Blackhawks placed 18th at State Fair and, in 2021, the band placed 19th at State Fair and third place in Class A.

In competitions this year, Sheridan placed fifth out of eight bands at Montgomery County, ninth out of 18 bands at Muncie Central and 13th out of 25 bands at Anderson. The extreme conditions on Friday at Anderson were difficult, but the band put on a great show, despite the heat, humidity and blinding sun, she said.

Doublestein is glad to see Hamilton Heights competing in State Fair Band Day. In 2021 and 2022, some Heights band members marched with Sheridan, “because they didn’t yet have a summer marching program,” she said. “We loved that partnership and welcomed the students who wanted to march with us. While we miss having them with us, we’re excited for their first season and wish them the best of luck.”

Sheridan Blackhawks’ show title for Band Day is “Ascension” with music by Randall Standridge entitled “Ritual.” The show was conceptualized and designed by Johnny McGinnis, the band’s co-director with Doublestein, and is about a fallen angel seeking redemption. The final concept was finalized in April/May once directors knew which students would be participating.

Many visual effects have been created to enhance the show, said Doublestein, who wouldn’t give away any more hints of the show but encouraged the community to come see the show. The music is about 5-½ minutes long. All bands have a total nine minutes to enter, perform and exit the competition area.

The Sheridan band features 25 wind instruments and percussion, eight guards and one drum major. Winds and percussion students wear a dark gray sleeveless shirt, black marching band pants and black marching shoes. “This uniform not only allows them to be in something cooler than a typical formal marching band uniform but also makes their movements easier to see because of the stark contrast of the black uniform against the white limestone at the State Fair grandstands,” she said.

There are guard members depicting an angel in white, a demon in red and the rest of the guard in black “to accentuate their different colored silks which enhance the visual aspects of the show,” she said.

Most of the winds and percussion students had their music before the end of school in May. Summer band practice began June 19, with daily practices 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with four days of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. band camp, with 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m rehearsals the rest of the summer.

“We have a fabulous team of parents, many of whom are members and officers of our Fine Arts Boosters, who have worked tirelessly on making the set pieces and figuring out the logistics for getting them on and off the field,” Doublestein said.

“We’ve been very successful with the progression of the show, and are pleased with the results of the contests we’ve been to thus far,” she said.

“This week, we are focusing on the fine details, making any necessary last-minute changes, and cleaning everything as much as possible,” she said.

Sheridan’s annual Free Community Preview is at 5 p.m. Thursday at Bud Wright Stadium with parking at Sheridan Middle School, 3030 W. 246th St., Sheridan, due to construction blocking the stadium entrance from the high school. Spectators should use the visitors’ bleachers.

Sheridan’s competition time is 9:45 a.m. Friday at the State Fair, which means early to rise. Call time is 5 a.m., boarding transportation and arriving at the fairgrounds shortly after 6 a.m. Once there, band members do stretches and basics, then put on uniforms, warm up and head to the track to compete.

Doublestein, who is director with Johnny McGinnis, said, “Our hope and plan is to be focused throughout the morning and perform our very best out on the track.”

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com