Neewollah: Seniors Last Marching Show
The 2021-2022 seniors’ last marching band season ended on October 30th. Their final performance was at Neewollah, a festival in Independence, Kansas. Neewollah hosts marching band competitions and a parade each year around Halloween time. Last year Neewollah was canceled due to COVID-19; the seniors did not get their junior year of the marching band or even regular band as a whole. Because COVID-19 hit, the band took more than a one-year break (half of the sophomore year and all of Junior year for Seniors). Despite that event, the marching band returned stronger than ever, delivering their marching show called “Queen Of The Underworld” at home football games, Band-o-Rama and Neewollah. The band received a Superior 1 rating for their parade performance and an Excellent 2 rating for their field show at Neewollah.
Interviews With Seniors
Question: “How do you feel that high school marching band season ended?”
Payton Anderson (Trombone): “I’m happy marching season is over because it was hard work, but I am proud of how far we have all come in the past four years; we did so great this year despite the one-year break.”
J’Alysia Wilkins (Clarinet): “I’m sad about marching season-ending because it was my favorite part of band; it felt like it was the most time you get to interact with the whole band instead of just with your section. It feels like we are all a community. Marching band is hard work, but it pays off.”
Ellie Vizcarra-Bedoy (Drum Major): “I don’t think I’m going miss marching band, but I appreciate everything I experienced during marching season. Being a drum major is give or take better than being on the field. However, as a drum major, there was more on my plate, creating more stress. Because of the stress, I feel like I did not get to enjoy my last marching season year.”
Katlyn Priester (Drum Major): “I feel like it ended on a good note. I don’t care about the scores we ended up getting. I care that we worked hard and we did our best. I made close bonds with many band kids, and we all did our best. I’m sad it’s over, but I’m also glad to be done with it because it was a lot of work and painful at times.”
Lauren Anderson (Drum Line): “It’s very bittersweet, you know? Like, I kind of just left a part of myself on that field, knowing I won’t go back to it. My back hates marching season, but the pain is worth it.”
Carlos Sosa (Drum Line): “Overall, I’d say that this past marching was pretty much a success. It was a struggle for me to keep going at times, but it was worth it in the end. For me, it’s all about the memories, and I know we made some great ones this year. It was a pain having to march every day, but there’s no reward without a little sacrifice. I’m proud of the south high band and what we’ve accomplished, given the tremendous amount of adversity we had faced.”
Victoria Luce (Trumpet): “Well, I’m sad, but I missed it from not having it last year, and I forget how tiring it is each year, but I miss whenever it’s over. What makes it fun is doing the competitions with the people in band and doing it every year and just showing what we worked on; it feels rewarding because we did well.”
Jose Lopez (Saxophone): “I know I’m going to miss it obviously, but now I’m excited about what college marching will be like since I will most likely continue marching band.”
