After months of preparation, six marching bands gathered at HHS to perform at the 22nd annual FUHSD Expo. Held on Oct. 11, Expo attracted many attendees, boasting packed stands over the course of the afternoon and evening, music program manager Daniel Piazza said.
(Photo by Henry Hu)
“Tonight is about launching into [the competitive season where] everybody gets their first performance in uniform in front of a real crowd,” Piazza said. “It’s just a fun community bonding and building event as we launch into the season.”
This year, the marching band chose Candyland as the field show theme, Piazza said. The theme was chosen for its creative spin on classic storylines surrounding a hero’s journey, Piazza added.
“It’s one of the sillier shows that we’ve done, but we’re pulling it off and it’s fun,” Piazza said. “It’s a story about the Gingerbread Man, and he’s taken over [the] Candy Kingdom … [The hero] fights the gingerbread man, and then we win and rejoice, and everything goes back to being all happy.”
The event was also an important fundraiser for the participating marching bands, with tickets, food and shout-outs all being sources of income, Piazza said.
Leading up to Expo, preparations were rigorous, with the marching band enduring countless practices to perfect their show, drum major, sophomore Claire McGraw said.
“[The final run-through is] where people really realize, ‘Oh, I need to do these certain things to make it work during the show,’” McGraw said. “That’s where we really put the show together.”
For trumpet leader, sophomore Nikith Janjanam, Expo offered a special chance to show his work on the field and see his own improvement.
“After showing off [our skills] on the field at Expo, it’s really cool to see the amount of progress you made,” Janjanam said. “During the actual event, it’s really fun seeing other schools perform, because you [can] understand the work that they went through.”
Aside from the excellent performance, students found enjoyment in getting to see fellow band members perform, director of bands Ben Scharf said. Expo served as an opportunity for the band to develop musicality and find inspiration, which will be vital during the competitive season, Scharf said.
“The biggest positive impact after Expo was having the students get to see what other schools in our area have been putting together and get excited about the activity by seeing different visions of marching bands come to life,” Scharf said.
