Rachel Ett, Clarinet, Class of Class of 2010
Katie Long, Bassoon, Class of 2011
Sarah Spires, Clarinet, Class of 2010
Laura Lanier, Bass Clarinet, Class of 2009
Last year as an eighth grader I decided to join the Wando Band. I had started band way back in the 6th grade and really enjoyed it throughout middle school, so I decided that I would keep it up in high school. Over the summer, before marching band started, I began to have second thoughts about staying in band. I knew that it was going to take hard work and I wasnÕt sure if I was going to be able to keep up or if I could handle the large work load. I was aware of the practices almost every day during marching season, and at least once a week off-season. I really enjoyed playing my instrument, but I didnÕt think that I would be able to hold a sousaphone (much less march with it), and keep up with my homework all at the same time. Thankfully, I had a few friends who were already in the Wando Band who convinced me to at least give it a try.
My first practice with the Wando Band was rookie camp. On the way there at about seven or eight in the morning I was very nervous. All that I could think of is that I was going to embarrass myself with my lack of marching skill. With some encouragement and a push from my mom, I started my first day of rookie camp. To my surprise, it turned out to be really fun. Very, very tiring, but fun. I was actually looking forward to the following week of band camp. Of course, not all of the practices were great, and sure I had those days where I was ready to quit, but looking back on it now I would do it all over again. It would have been a huge mistake if I had quit, and I would have missed out on so much.
Wando band has not only showed me the true meaning of hard work and devotion, but it has also introduced me to a wide variety of people. There are so many upperclassmen and they all treat the freshman like part of the Òfamily.Ó What I have figured out through the course of this year is that they will be some of the greatest friends that you will have throughout high school.
This past December I had the honor of attending the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. This once in a lifetime experience helped me to understand and appreciate band even more. Playing nine pieces in front of about two-thousand people isnÕt very easy, but the feeling of accomplishment that you get from that kind of performance in unexplainable. It was close to the feeling that I got when the marching band was announced three time State Champions.
Its accomplishments like those that make all the hard work and time that you put into the program worth it in the end. You somehow manage to finish all of your homework, make it through all of the run-throughs and long nights, and even learn how to master marching. ItÕs not easy, but it is definitely worth it. I couldnÕt be happier that I joined Wando Band and I look forward to the next three years that I have the privilege of spending with Wando Band.
-Emily Peterson
Tuba
Class of 2011
Rachel Ett
Dear ÔNew Members,Õ
My name is Rachel Ett, and I am a rising junior clarinetist. My story is relatively different than most that choose to join this wonderful band program, because unlike them, I was quite certain that I was NOT going to do band in high school. I had decided that high school band would take way too much time, I wouldnÕt have a life, and also, I wanted to swim on the swim team. In eighth grade, I had swum with Wando, and I wanted to do it again. I doubted I would be able to do band and swimming.
However, I continuously heard amazing things about the band. I began to fret about my decision, and at the end of summer, I resolved to try bandÉon one condition, that I would just try it. I met with Mr. Rush, talked about it, and I became part of the Wando band.
Choosing to do band would prove to be one of the best decisions of my life. Soon after, I suffered a knee injury, and was unable to swim with Wando that year. I became increasingly glad that I had a group of my own and an organization to belong to.
Literally almost all of my friends now are band friends. I was worried that I wouldnÕt have a lifeÉbut I do. Band is my life. But even though a majority of my time is spent doing what I love most (making music with my best buddies and very large family), I am still able to take AP classes and excel in them, keep up piano lessons, work out daily, and participate in various clubs and organizations. I was even able to become 2008Õs ÒMiss Wando!Ó
Band has changed me. It truly is a family, and everyone in band looks out for one another. We understand what it means to work hard, but it hardly feels like work when you are surrounded with crazy kids just like yourself. The reward that band yields is immensely gratifying: from being three-time state marching champions, to playing at the esteemed Midwest Clinic in Chicago, to more deeper things such as the unbelievable comradeship that exists among the band members. I strongly recommend band and everything it has to offer to anyone interested. Choosing to do band could prove to change your life, just as it has changed mine.
Sincerely,
Rachel Ett
Katie Long
Dear New Wando Band Members,
Hey, my name is Katie Long and I am going to be in 10th grade
next year at Wando. This time last year I was in the same position you
are and I know that a bunch of questions are running through your head
about your upcoming year. All I have to say is do not worry about it. I
was very nervous about coming to Wando, but especially about band. This
year has been such an experience for me and I enjoyed all of it. Doing
band at Wando was probably the best decision I ever made in my life. The
band program at Wando is like a big family. I have made so many new
friends that I might have never met if I hadnÕt don band; a majority
of my new friends are older too. This year was so much fun, but also a
lot of work. Band is basically my life now and I love it and I hope you
do too.
I started band in 6th grade; I play the bassoon. You cannot
march bassoon for marching band so I had to learn a new instrument, do
props, or colorguard. I chose colorguard and it turned out to be a lot
of fun and hard work; harder than I thought. Even though colorguard is
not an ÔinstrumentÕ we are still a big part of the band which was
really cool to me. Along with marching band season, we have our concert
band, which is where you play the instrument you started on. Meaning, I
am back to bassoon and no more flag until next marching season. Concert
band is a lot different than marching band, but you still have to put in
the same amount of effort, if not more, into it as you did during
marching. During concert season, we get to go to different place; like
this year we went to Chicago and New York and it was a lot of fun. You
also do a lot of bonding with your band, which gives you that family
feeling. Marching band and concert band are different, but both are
loads of fun and hard work.
Band to me means a lot of different things. But the main thing I
get from band is hard work, fun, and family. And we all have to put in a
lot of hard work and in return we make friends, have good times, fun,
and memories. The Wando Band is a great thing to be a part of and I hope
you join us for the fun we are going to have this year.
Hope to see you in the summer!
Sincerely,
Katie Long
Sara Spires
Wando Band has been all that I wanted it to be and more. I came into band excited but a little scared about what was going to happen. I was a shy freshmen worried about whether I would be able to keep up and fit in. All those feelings vanished when I stepped into the band room on the first day of band camp. Everyone was so welcoming and eager to make me feel comfortable. The returning band students wanted to get to know me as a person, not just as another freshmen clarinet player. After that first day of band camp, I knew that band was where I wanted to be.
What makes band even better is that it is not solely about music. Now of course that is a major part of it, and I love that. I love making music with a group of people. It amazes me how a group of so many different high schoolers can come together and make great music. But band is about being there for each other. Whenever I need help, I go to my band friends because I know they will listen. I know they will be there for me. When I need a place to get away, I go to the band room, my second home.
Band is a safe and nurturing place, but it is also a place where you will be challenged and you will grow as a person. It is a place where you can let down your guard, step out of your comfort zone, and learn how to make mistakes, recover gracefully from them, and go on to be your best self. The Wando band experience will help you become a better musician, a better student, a better friend, a better person.
Being a part of the Wando Band has made my high school years memorable. I am finishing up my third year in band, and I canÕt wait to start my fourth. The Wando Band has been my second family for these past three years, and I know the next year wonÕt be any different. We will continue to do what we do best, being the Wando Band.
Sara Spires
Laura Lanier
Three years ago, I was a little freshman eagerly anticipating band camp. Little did I know how important band would become in my life. I knew it would take up a lot of my time, I just didnÕt know how much I would enjoy it. ItÕs a lot of hard work to be in marching band, with the long and numerous practices in sweltering heat, waging war on the ever present mosquitoes. Despite all this, it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, except for maybe concert band. Being a 3-time state champ is really very rewarding. Especially when you get to share that accomplishment with the 250 friends youÕve made. It Ôs the one time of the year when we get to bond as one band, not three.
I play bass clarinet in symphonic band, but I am also in colorguard. I think it is the best marching band section because we have so much fun. The best part about being in colorguard is the equipment skills we learn. Spinning a flag or a rifle is a lot of fun; you wouldnÕt think so, but it really is. ItÕs even more fun when you know that youÕre one of the best colorguards in three states, now that we have won the gold medal at the winterguard circuit championship.
Concert band is just as rewarding as marching season, if not more so. Since IÕve joined the Wando Band, IÕve learned so much about music, including some music theory. Being in symphonic band and playing at Midwest has made me love making music. That is more important to me than all we have achieved because I know that I am truly learning to make music now. That is probably the most valuable thing Mr. Rush has taught me.
But thatÕs not all there is to band. IÕve made some amazing friends. WeÕve had some good times. Band trips and bus rides are really fun. I love how most band people share an odd sense of humor that non-bandies donÕt understand. It makes for some very funny situations and inside jokes. I would explain them, but you would probably think I am crazy. And youÕd be right because most people in band are crazy in some way. We have to be to be at school so much just because we want to be there.
IÕm about to go into my final year in the Wando band. IÕm not going to be a professional musician, but I know that I will always love music. Wando band is what makes high school fun. Wando is such a big school that itÕs easy to be lost in the crowd unless youÕre part of a group. IÕm very glad that I chose to be in the largest, most rewarding group at the school and I hope you consider joining it, too.
Laura Lanier