Director Mark Philgreen Leads Marching Band
November 6, 2017
Marching Band Competes Throughout Fall
The Pride Marching competed in four competitions this fall.
The group competed in the Mount Pleasant Marching Invitational, placing seventh; the Linn-Mar Marching Invitational, placing seventh; the Marion Marching Invitational, placing sixth; and State Marching Band, earning a Division II. They faced anywhere from five to eight schools in class 3A.
Color guard member Gabrielle Schuman (10) waves around her flag with a smile on her face.
Their main accomplishment was marching and playing the music by memory. “The music was more difficult this year, especially for the freshmen,” director Mark Philgreen said. “The music is different from what they played in middle school.”
The color guard and the drum major wore red and black costumes, complementing the Spanish theme. According to Philgreen, past show choir costumes were used for the Color Guard, eliminating the need to purchase costumes.
“Tristan (Voelker’s) drum major outfit was like a bullfighter’s, to fit the style of music,” Philgreen said.
Senior Alyx Schiltz enjoyed the band season. “My favorite part was the friendships I built with the people and being able to play the music correctly,” Schiltz said. “It was fun.”
Band Members Face a Muddy Finale
It was clear as mud that State Band would be a new challenge for director Mark Philgreen because the field was a slick, muddy mess.
On Oct. 7, the band competed in State Marching Band in Waterloo.
“The field was the muddiest field I’ve ever had a band march on in my 34 years of teaching,” Philgreen said. “Mud and no yard lines.”
Senior Holden Smith said that the field was covered in 6 inches of mud, with 2 inches of water on top.
“It was kind of like trying to march on an ice rink,” said Smith.
Standing in the spotlight, Alyx Schiltz (12) blasts her trumpet.
A tactic used at State Marching Band to keep the band from slipping involved double tying shoes as well as being careful in general. West Delaware managed to be one of the few bands to not have a member fall.
“There was a part where we marched backwards and Emily La Rosa started to slip,” said Smith. “A couple people lost their shoes in the mud.”
The marching band costumes were covered in mud up to the knees, resulting in parent Brenda Crumpton taking them home to wash them.