After a typical home football game, PV marching band members pack up their uniforms and instruments and head home. However, last Friday night, they celebrated the end of their marching season with “Band Bash”.
Band Bash is a band tradition that occurs each year after the last home football game. Band directors and volunteer students prepare the band room with decorations, speakers and lights. Marching band members congregate in the band room after the game and celebrate the end of their marching band season with dancing, singing and food.
This tradition began about 12 years ago, when the marching band stopped doing competitions. Previously, the band would travel to various locations around the state to be judged on their marching performance.
Drew Anderson, band director and one of the creators of Band Bash, said, “When you travel as a group, it brings together that band family. So we came up with another way to get people to get together and build those relationships, and that’s when we started Band Bash.”
Students and band directors consider Band Bash to be a celebration of their hard work and dedication throughout the marching band season. With over 320 members, it can be difficult to accomplish things as a whole group.
Tara Daurer, band director, said, “It’s a really unique opportunity, with the size of our band, where everybody gets to be together and get to be one ensemble, which is what I think makes marching band so special here.”
While Band Bash is exciting for most band members, many seniors have mixed emotions about this party, as it is the bittersweet end to their high school marching band careers. They gather in the middle of the dance floor in a “senior circle”, and reminisce about their marching band memories.
Brenna Morley, senior clarinet player, recalled the different experiences she had as a freshman, and then as a senior at Band Bash. “Three years ago, I had no idea how impactful marching band would be for me. Band Bash this year was definitely emotional for me because it was my last marching band experience of high school. I’m really going to miss it,” she said.
