Lambert’s elite Marching Band is a unique community composed of many different parts who all come together to practice their passion, winning numerous awards and honors, and is certainly not for the faint of heart. The band consists of around 160 members and three sections: percussion, winds and color guard. The marchers practice at least 15 hours each week which requires resilience, commitment and rigor.
The focus and determination of these students who dedicate themselves has led to them being nationally recognized. Within the winds section, there are two subsections of brass and woodwinds; within percussion, there is front ensemble (pit) and battery. In addition, Lambert Color Guard performs choreographed dances alongside the band to bridge the music and the spectators.
The students are not the only ones responsible for the performance of the marching band; teachers from different backgrounds and specializations come together to lead the band. Together, they work to hone in on students’ strengths and foster a community that strives for excellence.
Nethra Peddu, freshman at Lambert and part of the Lambert Percussion, values the work that goes into a performance even before practice begins. The marchers collectively contribute by coordinating, adding rhythm, using props, and hyping up crowds.
“Behind the scenes, we have production designers, and they create our dots and drills,” Peddu explained. “During band camp, we learn how to march with our instruments. And choreo, we get taught by either Anna, our color guard teacher, or other professionals who come in.”
The marching band mainly performs for both home and away varsity football games, as well as competitions where they are judged for factors like music performance, visual performance, general effect, percussion and Color Guard’s performance.
This band attends conferences, earning them the awards and honors they deserve. They recently attended Bands of America: Chattanooga, where they placed first place overall and received ‘Outstanding Visual Performance’, with the performance of this year’s theme: “Santulan” (the Hindi word for balance).With their practice and effort, this season is shaping up to be a momentous one.
At football games, the Marching band hypes up both the team and the crowd, using anthems, themes and a variety of steps and claps. This is where the marchers really get to show their energy and school spirit.
“We set up in the stands and for the first two quarters, we hype everyone up and keep the music playing ,” Peddu stated. “Depending on how the game is going, we have certain stand tunes for each moment.”
Drum majors, who conduct and lead the band, give signals on what to play and when. Their participation is vital as they facilitate the entire conducting of the band. They lead the band, and directly impact the entire success. One of the most important and memorable parts of their role is the half-time show, where they perform on the field as an ensemble to show pride for the team. When the game wraps up, the ensemble plays its Alma Mater, or the school anthem, to show support towards the team and its players.
Lambert Marching provides a space for all those who share a passion of playing: whether it be at games or at competitions. Lambert is grateful to have the marcher’s energy at school events and wishes them luck for the competition season.
