Marching Together Rival high school marching bands combine into one by Mia Wilson design by Carson Embree photo by Isabel Fay
The newly combined Sound and Spirit of Columbus performs Friday Sep. 3rd. The bands kicked off their season against Southport after a rained out game against Columbus East the week before. “It makes sense to continue to offer some combined experiences as they progress in their music career,” band director Bryan Munoz said.
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arching band, 185 strong, march onto the field. The crowd erupts into applause as the band is introduced over the speakers. The drum majors raise their hands and the instruments and flags follow, a show of perfect synchronization. They have practiced for months for this one moment, and it finally arrives. The Sound and Spirit of Columbus is here and ready to perform. Bryan Munoz, one of the band directors, has been tirelessly training his students. “Our 2021 show is entitled ‘Evil, Inc.’ and is a tongue in cheek production about a group of supervillains looking to take over the world. Think Pinky and The
Brain, or Comic Book storytelling,” Muñoz said. “We’ve incorporated some incredible visual elements through costume and flag design as well as set design” The marching band not only performs at school events, but they also compete in the grand nationals tournament at the Lucas Oil Stadium in November. The students put in over 100 hours of practice time to prepare for the competition. Freshman Kate London, a member of color guard, expresses her excitement for competition season. “I’m so excited, I love performing. This is my sixth season, but my third marching band season. I love it so much, it’s my favorite thing that I do,” London said. “So,
competitions don’t make me as nervous as they used to.” The students’ anticipation is high this year and they are hoping that COVID-19 will not dampen their spirits as numbers rise. Senior Xavier Smith recognizes the challenges and barriers the pandemic has placed on the band. “As soon as the mask mandate went into place, that kind of restricts indoor practice and such. If you’re playing an instrument you kind of have to take your mask off. Other than that, and of course people being contact-traced and having to get tested and stuff like that, it’s been fairly smooth,” Smith said. Despite the threat of cancellation due to the pandemic, the students’ keep their spirits high.
