The Marching Woodmen finished their season as runners-up in the State band competition.

Every year, the marching band adopts a new show. 

“The concept for our show this year was making lost loved ones immortal by honoring and remembering them,” junior Alex Flora, percussionist, said.

Throughout the season, the band puts in countless hours of practice and work in order to succeed. However, even through the hard work, there were some unforgettable moments.

“My favorite memory from this season was hearing the show performed in Lucas Oil. The show was designed specifically for that venue, and the sounds we produced were amazing,” junior Brayden Hafen, drum major, said.

Other fun moments from the season come from the progression that the band made since the beginning of the year.

“My favorite part of the year was seeing how much progress the band made throughout the year. Every day I was amazed by how hard everyone tried and how much everyone cared in comparison to other years,” junior Katja Ziliak, tenor saxophone, said.

With how successful GHS’s band has been in the past, winning 15 State Championships, it is easy to hold high expectations for the band.

“The band, specifically the drumline, exceeded my expectations by a long shot. We were definitely struggling for a couple of years, but we pulled things together this year and sounded wonderful. We even won the ‘best percussion’ caption at one of our competitions,” Flora said.

Exceeding expectations was a theme among other members of the band, too.

“The band definitely exceeded my expectations this year. Coming from the last two years, I wasn’t too confident in the way the season would go, but even at the beginning of this year, they were going above and beyond what we needed to do to be great,” Ziliak said.