Directors' Note

2009 Season Wrap-Up

Posted November 4th, 2009 in Directors' Note by Dan Carlson

Greetings Lincoln Band Fans!  The 2009 season has been fabulous and per suggestion of Steve and Gina Pfeiffer, our 2009-10 Band Parent Presidents, I am presenting the season wrap-up taken from our indoor show script here on the website.  It really is a great summary of the thrills and successes of the season and is a great way to take it all in at once, so here it is!

The Lincoln High School Patriot Marching Band’s first outing of the 2009 season was on September 19.  The band traveled to Marshall, MN for the “Pursuit of Excellence” Field Competition and turned in an amazing, high-powered first performance.  The band won 1nd place in the Ivory Class and 2nd overall out of 17 bands, as well as best drumline.  On September 26th the Patriots traveled to Sioux City to compete in the “Starfest” field competition.  The band ended up winning the sweepstakes trophy amidst a field of outstanding bands.  The band also won best drumline, best hornline, and best music execution.  The LHS competitive marching season was off to a great start.

October 3th found the marching Patriots performing in their home show, the “Festival of Bands” at Howard Wood Field.  It was another spectacular performance by the 250 member Patriot Marching Band.  The “Valleyfest” field competition in Des Moines, Iowa, was the next outing for the LHS Band.  At this event the band won outstanding percussion, outstanding hornline, and outstanding marching and maneuvering.  The band ended up winning the overall sweepstakes award among 24 bands in competition.  It was a performance to be proud of!  The next weekend, on October 17, the band performed in the Augustana Homecoming Parade and then traveled to the Dakota Dome in Vermillion for the “Quad State” Field Competition.  The band competed in superb form winning another sweepstakes trophy.  The band also won overall outstanding percussion, outstanding hornline, and outstanding colorguard.
The final weekend of competition brought the band to the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN, a truly grand venue in which to wrap up the season.  The band competed in a prelims-finals format, making finals and finishing second overall, as well as once again winning best drumline and turning in two amazing final performances.  Everyone would agree that the biggest trophies the band and the fans received were the wonderful comments heard from other people in the stands at this and other events throughout the season.

The 2009 LHS field show is comprised of composed and arranged works by Jeremy Hegg, written exclusively for the LHS Band.  The 2009 production, entitled “The Heist”, was one of the most creative endeavors the LHS Band has ever attempted, and the students performed it masterfully through the entire season.  In fact, for the first time in LHS Marching Band history, the band broke the 90 point barrier five weekends in a row, a feat  no other band in the region matched this season!  The drumline also regained their undefeated status this year, winning the best drumline caption at every contest in which they competed!  The band competed against 92 marching bands from a seven state region this season over the course of six weekends and outscored 91 of them – a truly amazing feat!

The storyline of the performance you are about to witness is simple.  The entire production sets up a mock marching band competition and immediately takes the listener to the awards ceremony.  The second place trophy is presented, and then…what’s this?  The first place trophy has gone missing!  How can this be?  Who did it?  The show takes us through a series of twists and turns, opening with “The Job” and then moving into the jazzy and then intense work entitled “Impossible”.  One lead after another comes to a dead end as horn cases are passed around the band, possibly with the missing trophy inside.  The show slows down and transitions into “Caught In The Act” and then moves into an intense chase scene as the 2009 show closes with “Thieves”.  The true thief is revealed at the end and is seen running off the field in a pre-2002 LHS marching band uniform – first place trophy in hand, and the entire LHS marching band in hot pursuit.  The band literally “steals the show” as they chase down the first place trophy!  Jam packed with mock judges offering their comments throughout the show and getting trapped in forms, magic tricks with disappearing trophies, laser beams, flying rifles and flags, insane percussion, powerful and engaging drill moves, and an incredibly powerful hornline to add the final punch, the 2009 show is a masterpiece that will be remembered for years to come!

We Are Proud Of You!

Posted October 14th, 2009 in Directors' Note by Dan Carlson

This note is a little bit late, but certainly needs to be written. Mr. Carlson and I (Mr. C) wanted to express how extremely proud of the band we were on Saturday night for what turned out to be a chilly but passionate performance. We were so impressed at how well everyone dealt with adverse conditions (cold, time restraints, illnesses) and pulled together with such an amazing team effort. It is such a thrill to watch the Lincoln Marching Band Machine in full throttle – from the students’ audience-pleasing performance to the racing roadies to the sleepless chaperones to the die-hard fans in the stands. It was a fabulous performance by all, and it was thrilling to see everyone rewarded in such a big way on such a big stage.

We especially wanted to thank the students that graciously gave up so much of their Fall to join us at the last minute to fill the spot of someone who dropped out during the season. The hole fillers are: Kristian Asfeldt, Natasha Baumgartner, Veronica Bierig, Devin Fox, Natosha Hiipakka, Virginia Larsen, Rachel Munce, and Natasha Phill. Those are eight spots that would’ve been empty throughout the season had these students not stepped up and helped us all out.

We are now dealing with another issue that is taking students out of band – the flu. Last night we had 40 students out with type A influenza and the H1N1 virus, among other things. We are hoping students fully recover and have modified our rehearsal schedule to hopefully make things a bit easier on everyone. Please continue to practice healthy habits to hopefully avoid contracting an illness.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to make Saturday night a success. We are proud of you all!!!

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Solid Performance at FOB

Posted October 5th, 2009 in Directors' Note by Dan Carlson

It certainly wasn’t the weather we’ve had the past two weekends, but we were able to work through the rain and the cold and put on another great performance. The season continues to wind down ever so quickly. The hours of remaining rehearsals continue to dwindle, and the rain days continue to shave even more time off of our rehearsal time outside. Right now we’re looking at 21 rehearsal hours left for the season!  This is time of year where we have to push very hard to maintain what we have produced, and push even harder to make the product better. We are going to make this product better. This has been quite the journey thus far this season and we can’t wait to see it these last three weekends.

Our “on field – off field” race against the clock that we have to deal with when we perform in Des Moines will be one of the main rehearsal points this week.  They have very stringent rules regarding time, and we will be doing a modified field entrance and exit so as to avoid getting penalized for going over time. The weather looks to be very similar to what we experienced this past weekend at FOB, so in that regard we had a good dress run through. Hopefully it holds, the wind stays calm, and MAYBE the temperature will be a few degrees warmer than what they’re predicting. Regardless, we’ll continue to put our best foot forward.  The weather conditions look to be tough this week for rehearsals, but we’re coming off of a year during which we rehearsed in SNOW getting ready for the Macy’s parade, so this weather should be no tough feat to work though for these students.  We’re looking forward to ending this season strong, so students, bundle up and come ready to work.  We have no doubt you will!

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…and Another Dramatic Performance

Posted September 28th, 2009 in Directors' Note by Dan Carlson

Finding shade on Saturday afternoon was like finding a cold drink of water as we warmed up with our uniform jackets off.  The sun and heat always make for a challenging performance, but in spite of that, the LHS marching band capitalized on a strong afternoon performance scoring a 90.8 in prelims. 

Following the performance, we asked the band “How many of you think you can perform a better show tonight?”  Every hand went up.  We knew we had a much better show in us.  The afternoon was good, but the evening was going to be great. 

The weather conditions were stellar.  The students were determined to have a better outing the second time around.  The stage was set, once again, for another magnificent performance of ”The Heist”.  As the band marched over to the stadium, you could feel the energy radiating from the students.  There was a silent intensity – a focus that told us the band was indeed going to perform a great show. 

The band performed what turned out to be a spectacular, energetic show that was visually and musically cleaner than Marshall – all except for about 15 seconds in the second tune during which the band had a music tear that made all of the instructors in the stands hold their breaths.  However, the band quickly recovered and cashed in on the rest of the show, nailing things better than they have ever nailed them before.  It was an emotional performance with drive, passion, and intensity – and the best part about it – it was obvious the students were loving every minute of it. 

I think this will be a show that everyone will be sad to see come to an end.  There are only four weeks left of rehearsal and performances and it has been a thrill ride putting this thing together.  I sense the students feel the same.  It’s so rewarding to see them not just tolerate, but love the work of putting this together, and I’m anxious to further fix things in the show that will make it sparkle even more.  We’re just so proud of the kids and the energy they put into this week after week.  What a thrill!  And to all the parents that make this all possible – we’re continually humbled by your commitment.  This band is like the workings of a small country.  Everyone has to pitch in to make it successful and to make the experience better, and that’s exactly what this band accomplishes so well!

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All We Can Say Is – WOW.

Posted September 21st, 2009 in Directors' Note by Dan Carlson

We could feel it in the air on Saturday night – that calm, collected confidence before the show. The students were going to do something special. The excitement of exposing the show to the general public for the first time was thick.

And then the performance…

Yes it was our first show out, but we don’t think we’ve EVER seen a first show out quite like that one. The connection between the band and the audience was electric – it was impossible to not be drawn in. The students were focused and on fire. There was not an ounce of flatness to the show – just controlled, focused energy aimed at the audience in front of them, and if you were there, you truly experienced something magical.

We are so proud of the students and could not have asked any more out of them. Everything worked. At that point it comes down to subjectivity, and we make no apologies for who we are and what we do. We aim to entertain, and if you walked away from that show and weren’t entertained, well…you need to search for a pulse. The thrill of performance is what it’s all about, and we think the students experienced something Saturday night that they will never forget. It’s not every day that you go and spend 160+ hours with 250 other people your age to attempt to make complete magic – and that’s exactly what happened Saturday night. We want to congratulate all of the other bands on their outstanding performances and for making this activity such an exciting one. Everybody is out there working hard and putting in the countless hours to experience that thrill of performance, and we love seeing it on a broad scale. Thank you to ALL who made this outing a COMPLETE success. Let’s all look forward to doing it five more weekends!

Dan Carlson and Bob Carlson

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