by Taylor Massey
This season, the Republic Tiger Pride Marching Band faced countless challenges that made this year one of the strangest yet. Nevertheless, Jack Hoodenpyle, Brooke Miller, and Hayden Taylor, the three drum majors, were still determined and continued their hard work behind the scenes.
The band was unable to participate in every event as they normally would. Many festivals the band still attended throughout the year had to create modifications, such as having fewer schools attend. One of many events that were impacted by COVID-19 was the band’s annual overnight trip. This trip usually allows the band an extra competition to perform in during the fall.
“I think this year’s marching band season can best be described as ‘watered down’. We had a shorter summer band camp, we had fewer total performances, and we were not able to go on our overnight trip,” said Hoodenpyle.
On a more positive note, the majors were still able to create some sense of normalcy. They were still given various responsibilities, including getting together before the season to practice directing the show and ensuring the entire band kept a positive mindset throughout the year.
One unexpected benefit that came out of this year is being provided new opportunities to improve their performance. At festivals where there were fewer schools, like the Ozarko Marching Festival, the judges were able to come down to the field and work with the band as if they were at a band camp. This gave the band extra time to work on its performance and perfect it for later competitions.
Another change to this year is that all band members spent a weekend having a virtual performance. All three of the drum majors helped set up, record, and edit a video of their performance to share with others.
“For our virtual performance, the band spent one Saturday morning and afternoon practicing our show and then recorded a full run-through later that night. All of our parents were welcome to come and watch in the football stadium. Overall, our virtual performance day was a lot of fun and felt exactly like a normal marching festival trip, only without the trip,” said Hoodenpyle.
Hoodenpyle also reflected on the marching band season as a whole. “Even with this year’s twists and turns, we still made the most of the season and had lots of fun doing so.”