It was so quiet in the stadium that Jacob Hunt could hear a pin drop. There wasn’t a single hair out of place, or an instrument gone untuned. Every second was getting closer and closer to go time. One thing was clear: this was state, and this performance had to shine.
Five, six, seven, eight–and the lights were up.
This past Saturday night, Noblesville’s Marching Millers competed at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Open Class championship, finishing in ninth place out of ten. After nearly five months of practicing for the competition season, their year came to an end, but not without making school history in the process.
This is the second year that Noblesville has made Open Class finals for marching band, and the members say that the success brings about a strong sense of pride for both the competing group and the school community alike. With hundreds of bands competing, the team knows that to be a part of the top 10 finalists speaks as a win in itself for Noblesville High School. Senior Hunt is thrilled to be a part of such a hardworking group of people.
“It’s been an excellent season. The amount of hard work we’ve put in is immense. We finally get to show off what all we’ve done,” Hunt said.
This year’s show, entitled ‘The White Crow’, tells the story of a reverse-Swan-Lake that junior Britany Tochimani describes as being “similar to the story of the ugly duckling, but with crows.”
Tochimani, who has been a part of the program’s color guard for three years, says that this year’s show was especially challenging, and that the band’s program surpassed the past season.
“There were definitely improvements to be made, but it was really good. For both the guard and band, the drill and music were much better,” Tochimani said.
This sense of pride isn’t limited to only the performers. Director of Bands at Noblesville, Eric Thornbury, wants audiences to realize how special the group’s achievements are.
“The thing that people need to understand is that Indiana marching band is like no other state,” Thornbury said. “For there to be as many good bands, we are kind of an anomaly in the nation.”
