By: Chelsie Yokum
By 7 in the morning—while some students are just waking up—the Marching Northmen are grabbing their instruments and heading out to the field to practice. This year the band’s show is The Lord of the Rings, composed by Johan de Meij and arranged by Jay Bocock. The symphony is based on themes from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, and consists of 3 separate movements, each illustrating an important character or episode from the book.
The band’s show is chosen each year by directors Adam Farley and Joshua Williams. They have taken to a tradition of alternating between a more classical show and a pop music type show.
“This year was the more classical year,” said drum major senior Derek Byrne. “So they chose something that will definitely showcase our musical talent and is still socially accessible by both players and the audience.”
Several band students express excitement about the theme.
“I think the way we’re doing the music is a new twist on something a lot of people are familiar with, so it’ll definitely catch their attention,” Byrne said.
Baritone player senior David Wuthnow agrees.
“People actually know what it is, as opposed to our last classical piece,” Wuthnow said. “I think it’ll be more of a Lion King response than an American in Paris response.”
Not all feedback on The Lord of the Rings is positive, however.
“I think the audience likes more recent music,” said snare player sophomore Rachel Mallin. “[Farley and Williams] should give us a selection of music and put it up to vote.”
Some are worried about the difficulty of the piece.
“It will sound cool if we can get it right,” said clarinet player sophomore Courtney Wiggins, “but it’s really hard.”
Drum major senior Melanie Holmgren agrees.
“It’s definitely challenging. It’s nice that we have a lot to work for. I’m not sure how the audience will react to it at games,” Holmgren said. “It’s just really different from what we’ve done in the past.”
The Marching Northmen is not the only group switching things up this year. With their Rags to Riches show, Oak Street Singers are attempting a new style of dance—tap.
“It’s all D (vocal director Christopher Droegemueller). He surprises us with [the shows],” said senior Molly Maloney. “He’s a really good dance teacher. I think we’re really stepping it up this year. It’s a really difficult show. The songs are harder and our dances are definitely harder.”
The show includes songs such as Beautiful by Christina Aquilera, Puttin’ on the Ritz, arranged by Droegemueller himself, and 96,000 from In the Heights.
“I love [the show],” said sophomore Marvin Byas. “It’s a very contrasting show. We start poor and by the end we’re in tuxes and top hats. It’s a lot of work to get it all together, but when it comes to competition it will be great.”
