The Greenwood Marching Woodmen and Irish Guard are preparing to defend their Class B Indiana State School Music Association title on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, this time with a new director.
Band Director Ben Werne knows he has big shoes to fill taking the reins of one of Indiana’s winningest marching band programs from previous director John Morse, who took an administration job in another school district after leading the local band to the Class B title last year.
“It’s been an honor,” Werne said of his first-year experience. “I’ve been very impressed with the dedication of parents and volunteers. This show is off the charts, probably the best in Indiana.”
Werne has full confidence that his band can achieve back-to-back titles, he said.
“The kids are very hardworking and they’re very talented musicians,” he said. “The rehearsal process we have in place is tried and true.”
Saturday will be the last performance of the season for Greenwood’s 163-student marching band, which did not qualify for the Bands of America competition. Joining Greenwood among the finalists in this year’s state competition will be the Center Grove High School marching band.
The competition season for the two schools started in July. After planning and rehearsing their performances for about two months, both Greenwood and Center Grove have taken part in invitational shows since September.
The top 10 marching bands qualified for the state competition in each of four divisions, that are decided based on school enrollment. Bands started performing in regional competitions on Oct. 19, and 104 Hoosier marching bands were narrowed down to the final 40, which will compete for state titles this weekend in Indianapolis, according to a news release from the Indiana State School Music Association.
Center Grove’s 125-student marching band will perform a song called “Dark Millennium” as part of its show, which will center around the theme of “Bridges Greater than Walls,” inspired by the song “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” by Simon and Garfunkel.
The band will use scaffolding to represent a bridge on the field, Schuessler said in July.
Center Grove’s marching band placed sixth in the Class A division at the Indiana State School Music Association state finals last year.
The Marching Woodmen and Irish Guard will perform “HAL,” inspired by the computer in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The performance will tie into the band’s theme: “Man Versus Machines.” The show will feature computer voice interaction to go along with the story line, Assistant Director of Bands Steve Fletcher said in July.
During the semi-state competition on Saturday, the Center Grove marching band, as well as the Marching Woodmen and Irish Guard both placed in the top 10 schools of their respective classes, qualifying them for the state finals. The Clark-Pleasant Marching Warriors played in the Class A semi-state competition, but did not qualify for state.
Franklin Community High School hosted the Class D semi-state competition but did not compete.
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Indiana State School Music Association State Championships
When: Saturday
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium
Local schools: The Marching Woodmen and Irish Guard of Greenwood Community High School will compete at 10 a.m.
Center Grove High School Marching Band will compete at 9:45 p.m.
Cost: $22 for adults and $18 for students and preschool-aged children
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