October 29th, 2016: ISSMA State Finals
The last strands of the Doxology, our warm-up before the show begins, are echoing throughout Lucas Oil Stadium, people cheer, and these words leave my mouth: “Soli Deo Gloria! Have a great show ladies and gentlemen.” Support rings in from the sideline as the Cadet cheer ripples through the crowd. The announcer comes over the loudspeaker, introduces the band and the drum majors, and the students go and have the show of their lives! From the beautiful music to the perfect execution of the maneuver into our cross formation, it was the best we had EVER performed our show. We eagerly anticipated the results of the competition...
8th place out of 10 bands.
How did this happen? Two weeks earlier we were first in our class. We were expecting a little bit more than 8th at our final competition of the season. I remember comforting students with tears of frustration rolling down their faces, even though my own were ready to boil over.
But then I remembered my own words which had been spoken just over an hour ago. Soli Deo Gloria! Glory to God Alone! Praise God that our message had been heard! People witnessed as 73 students proclaimed their faith for thousands on hand! Was it difficult to hear our name called at 8th place? Absolutely. The human nature inside each staff member and student wants to win. That’s just who we are. But, at the end of the day, we completed our mission for the season. To proclaim the Gospel!
So, what does that mean for this year? Well, the staff first met in January and asked the same question. How do we design a show that is smarter and has more appeal with the judges, while still maintaining our identity as a Christ-Centered school with a show that proclaims the Gospel message? Without going into too much detail, I think we did just that.
This year’s show is titled: “Eve.” The show begins with the perfection that was the Garden of Eden. We open up our show with a breathtakingly gorgeous piece called “The Engulfed Cathedral” by Claude Debussy. Then comes temptation and our temptor, musically represented by the percussion section, as they move to destroy the perfection that is Eden. The temptation continues with a blistering tango, started by a saxophone quartet, followed by the whole band. By the end of the movement, Eve has fallen into temptation and Eden has been destroyed. The show comes to a conclusion with Bjork’s “Overture” to the film “Dancer in the Dark.” The piece provides a sense of lament and reflection, but also a sense of hope at the end.
Part of our identity as a Lutheran school is the inclusion of a hymn into each and every show. The same is true for this year. But, if you want to know what it is, come to one of our shows!
September 9th: Bluffton High School
September 23rd: Bands of America - Early Season Regional at the University of Toledo
September 30th: Homestead High School
October 14th: ISSMA Regionals at Chesterton High School
October 21st: Bands of America - Indianapolis Super Regional at Lucas Oil Stadium
October 28th: ISSMA Semi-State at Decatur Central High School (God-willing!)
November 4th: ISSMA State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium (God-willing!)
We hope to see you at one of our shows this year cheering us on! We are so excited about this show!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Adam Friedrich,
Director of Bands