Theme of 2015 marching band show
The Earth— a lonely speck, a mote of dust suspended in a vast cosmic arena. This soft beacon of pale blue light enveloped in a vast darkness is the amass of thousands of ideologies, religions, and political doctrines. Every hero and coward having searched for momentary eminence, fervent hatred quick to turn into endless cruelties—this source of all autonomy defines a mere pixel of existence.
The totality of this pale blue dot will be articulated by the 200 students currently structuring Fossil Ridge High School’s marching band. Inspired by Carl Sagan’s essay, the “Pale Blue Dot” will be the theme of this year’s show.
Ranked as one of the top music programs in the state of Colorado, Fossil’s marching band is gearing up for another shot to compete in the state championships. Many school divisions have been bested in previous years with Fossil taking the title of first or second place. Ella Fogarty, a third year clarinetist states that, “taking for granted our reputation is bad. It takes away from all our work ethic that has allowed to be as good as we are.” Striving to keep up a mindset driven by determination, Fossil rivals former state championships such as Legacy High School and Air Academy, for the title.
Due to recent budget cuts and minimization of staff at Fossil, the director of bands, Dan Berard, will need great patience and energy to maintain a large student body. “We do our best to stay focused and keep the goal in mind,” exclaims Corinne Howlett, senior drum major. With a great Band Leadership Team (BLT), Berard will hopefully be evading most perils. Fogarty stated that, “having one less band director creates more drive in the members. We have more responsibility to be accountable for, so we work even harder.” As a result, the marching band will be continually rehearsing for several hours three or four times a week.
With more original musical compositions and artistic set formations, the band is looking ahead at another competitive year among the school divisions.
“It’s really fun to perform for people that get as excited about marching band as we do,” says Howlett, “our goal is not to win, although it’s nice when we do well. It’s to enjoy performing for people that appreciate music. We love marching band for the wonderful feelings that we get from the thrill of performance.”
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