I can honestly say that I was dreading going to the band’s concert. I didn’t want to go and listen to highschool musicians play for an hour and then feel socially obligated to clap. However, I had committed to going, so I found myself walking into the school for the second time on May 8, around 6:50.

There were far more people there than I expected, but as walked into an almost full auditorium I began to understand why. I walk in to the percussion section playing “Sizzle” and hissing at the audience. I wasn’t prepared nor could I have been, but my outlook on the next hour began to lift. As they finished I watched them run to set themselves up for the next piece. Dan Wooge, band director, took to the stage to introduce his band.

They started with a Queen medley. As soon as they were finished they jumped head first into “Mambo” from West Side Story. With each song I found myself sitting forward. The energy in that auditorium was contagious. I felt invested as I heard about their victories at marching shows this season and then as I watched 80 or so musicians continue to play their hearts out and dance in the background during their rests, I couldn’t help but feel a small amount of the passion and dedication that they have for their instruments.

Then the evening took an almost somber note as I had to watch Kennedy Mounce, 12, try to keep back her flood of tears as she read a farewell note to her Assistant Band Director, Matthew McGrory while pointing out the facilities of the English language.

From there I watched Wooge almost gush in excitement as he explained to us the premise of their next piece, “Epinicion”.

“What this song is about: it’s an ancient Greek song of victory sung at the conclusion of a triumph battle. The Greeks would sing it as they walked through a battlefield sorting out their wounded and dead,” explained Wooge.

As the Band finished their concert with “Cotton Eyed Joe,” the recognition of their seniors and then the last movement of their marching show for next year, I began to understand why so many people were here to support the band. The sounds they created were beautiful, but anything can be beautiful, it was the joy that they managed to express without saying a word is what brought so many people to the school that night and what will bring me back to the band concerts next year.