BGHS band director is committed to rebuilding program
This year, the national marching band competition Bands of America will hold its regional and grand national competitions at Lucas Oil Stadium, and Cory Wynn’s Marching Hornets plan to be there.
“That’s how we’re finishing our year,” Wynn, a former Hornet himself, said of the November 8 competition. “I really do have a great group. We should be successful.”
Bands of America is a chance for the upper echelon of marching bands across the country to compete against one another, and Wynn said his band is ready.
This year’s Marching Hornets group is the largest he’s had yet; his drum majors and a few of the color guard were in the class of 2008, but he only lost one on-field marcher to graduation. He now has 26 seniors to lead the 2008-2009 season.
Up-and-coming band program seeks new trailer
A bigger, better band needs bigger, better transportation, and the Marching Hornets’ faithful old trailer, purchased in 1977, just isn’t cutting it anymore. The band directors and parents have devised a community sponsorship plan to take care of the large, one-time need. They estimate the cost of replacing the large equipment trailer and the smaller uniform trailer at about $15,000.
The eight sponsorship levels start at $50 and top out at $10,000 — or more, of course! — and each has a number of incentives, from certificates and window decals to banners, tickets and plaques.
Sponsorship forms are available at the high school, and soon, they’ll be available online at www.beechgroveband.com (the site is currently under construction).
For more information on the Marching Hornets, call Beech Grove High School at 786-1447.
Wynn knows a big band with a heavy senior class will only continue the momentum they’ve been gathering in the few years he’s helmed the group. “Every year, we get a higher score at regionals,” he said. Last year, they nearly made it to state with a very respectable score of 73.05. “We’ve been getting closer and closer every single year.”
Changes in policy may help them as well. Instead of the top five bands moving on from regionals to state, the top 10 will move on to a newly instated semi-state competition. Semi-state is part of the natural playoff progression for high school sports, but it’s a recent development in the world of marching band.
An innovative and interesting show won’t hurt them, either. For both competitions and the band’s 2008 half-time shows, Wynn took an orchestral version of the Rolling Stones song “Paint It Black” (performed by the London Symphony Orchestra) and fashioned an entire show titled “Fade to Black,” which does just that. The band starts with light instruments and a white tarp in one corner and slowly darkens, in both sound and color, ending in the opposite corner with black props and a tuba solo.
It’s been 18 years since the Beech Grove High School marching band has made it to state, but Wynn hopes to see his students there in the near future. His slow rebuild has included upgrading not only skill, but uniforms and instruments, and he said it couldn’t have been done without the support of the administration and help of the many dedicated parents involved.
1September 22nd, 2008 at 7:35 am
woop!
woop!
go BG band.
2October 3rd, 2008 at 4:55 am
I hear you practice almost every night. SOUNDING GREAT!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!