Marching band spends many hours preparing for season

Students in the Woodford County High School marching band spent countless hours over the last couple of weeks preparing for their upcoming season. On Tuesday morning, they worked on their footwork without instruments under an overcast sky. WCHS saxophonist Andrew Iglehart described the intricate footwork and music in this year's show as "good for me as a senior because I love the challenging stuff." It's also great to give incoming freshmen an opportunity to learn a new show featuring music, which he said, "is much harder this year . and I love it."

Senior Nick Adams, a tuba player in the WCHS marching band, described band camp as a lot of hard work with a payoff. "All the days (during band camp) are really tough (and) there's a lot of marching on your feet," explained Nick, 17, "but in the end it's worth it. And you feel like you're contributing to the group because without you, all of this kind of falls apart. So it's kind of an obligation to be here, but (knowing what you're working to achieve in a performance) you also enjoy it." Nick, Andrew and other WCHS band members were focused on not moving their upper bodies while also making sure their footwork stayed in step with one another on Tuesday morning. "The upper body stays the same," explained Andrew, 17, "but the lower body is where the marching happens." In a marching band, everyone has a job to do, he said. That's why "lots of repetition" were three words repeated again and again by band director Michael Collins, who's beginning his second year at WCHS after spending six years as assistant director of bands for LaRue County Public Schools. Prior to his first band camp at WCHS a year ago, Collins said he wanted to create a "culture of excellence." "With marching band," he said, "it's all about taking your audience along for the ride - whatever kind of emotional ride (that) you want to create for them."