On October 18, the football game held its annual Senior Night! On Senior Night, many athletic groups are represented and recognize the seniors in their respective activities. One of the groups recognized was the CHS Marching Band.
The thirteen seniors in the marching band are Will Welge, Lincon Schroeder, Jaden Lopez, Nico DeGuzman, Max Blechle, Whitney Sulser, Josh Copple, Tia Martinez, Ary Shipley, Mirra Krieg, Nick Coffey, Tino Rafael, and Toby Gercis!
Each band member was asked a couple questions about their personal experience of band! Here are their responses:
Will Welge is one of the three drum majors, but he also happens to play the oboe, saxophone, and clarinet! He’s been in band since fifth grade, and says the reason he joined band was because he always wanted to play an instrument. His favorite band memory was when he was improvising on his saxophone solo for the song titled, “Pass the Hot Sauce,” which was played for Jazz Band at the Spring concert. After he graduate he plans on going to college for music technology!
Lincon Schroeder is a part of the percussion section in band and has been for seven and a half years! He states that the reason he joined band was because he saw his sister enjoy being a part of the band and he wanted to know what it was all about. Lincon’s favorite memory was during Solo & Ensemble season when everyone was in the back of the class playing fun games such as Uno and just hanging out and having fun! He’s going into the work force right after high school.
Jaden Lopez plays trombone and also happens to be one of the three drum majors too! He’s been in band since fifth grade and states that the reason he joined was because, “If I can remember around eight years ago or whatever, my decision for joining the band was because I thought playing the trombone would be funny, and because everyone else was doing it. Over time, I actually got invested in it and have been playing it since.” He also mentions that he doesn’t really have a favorite band memory, but the moments he always enjoyed the most was playing and rehearsing for jazz and pep band! He wishes to attend Murray State to study Cyber Security and Network Management once he graduates. He also thinks about joining the Murray State band!
Nico DeGuzman is our next band Senior, who plays the clarinet! Nico has been in the band for 7 years and says he decided to join band because he wanted to learn how to play an instrument due to the fact he’s always been into art and music. He also describes his favorite band memory by saying,”My favorite band memory is the Silly String wars we had after jazz band practice in my sophomore and junior years. Someone would secretly spray Silly String all over someone’s car (either before or after practice), and when they saw it after practice, we’d all drive away before they could do anything about it. The next night we had practice, the other person would retaliate with their own Silly String, and it’d go back and forth. I think we even did it to Mr. Colonel once. I still have the empty can from when we sprayed Garret Hopkins’ car last year after the last practice of the year.” He then states that he plans on going to college and majoring in Creative Writing once he graduates!
Next up we have Max Blechle who has been a member of percussion for eight years now! He states that the reason he joined the band was because he’s been playing drums his whole life, and that his favorite memory was his Freshman year football season! After graduation, he wishes to stay home and farm.
Whitney Sulser is the next senior, during marching season she participates in the Dance Team but she plays a major role in band with her Clarinet skills! She’s been in band for four years now and decided to join because she thought it would be a fun and enjoyable experience. Her favorite memory has been getting to play in pep band with all of the great energy! After she graduates, she plans on attending SEMO to get her bachelors degree in Pre-vet Medicine and then later attend a different college for her DVM!
Joshua Copple is our next band senior! Joshua plays the trumbone for the CHS Band and has been for seven to eight years now! He wanted to join the band just to simply see what it was like, and says his favorite memories have to be playing at the basketball games. He plans on either going to trade school or the work force once he graduates!
Tia Martinez is another Dance member who’s also in band! She plays the flute and has been a part of the band for four years. She says the reason she joined the band was because she thought it would be fun and she always wanted to play the flute! Her personal favorite band memory was in Freshman year at games with her friends, and she enjoys gossiping with Mr. Colonel! After graduation, she plans on attending SIU in Carbondale to study psychology.
Ary Shipley has been a band member since fifth grade and has always played the clarinet. She says that the reason she joined the band was because her sister was in it up until Junior High and her sister loved it. Ary’s favorite memories from band are playing pep band and giving Mr. Colonel presents at the annual Christmas concerts. Ary plans on going to SWIC and getting her degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography once she graduates.
Mirra Krieg is one of this year’s band seniors and also a dance team member! Mirra plays a huge role in the percussion section in band and commonly plays the bells, xylophone, chimes, and other instruments similar to those. She has been in the band for six years, and decided to join in the first place because she thought it would be a good opportunity for her throughout Junior High and High School. She also decided to join in seventh grade because she just loves music! Her favorite memories from band are performing for the annual Christmas Concert every year. She plans on going to college to study education to become an elementary school teacher once she graduates.
Next up we have Nick Coffey who plays percussion, and has for the last four years! He simply decided to join the band because he likes drums and his favorite memories and parts of the band are pep band! His plan after graduation is to become a teacher.
Lastly, we have Toby Gercis. Toby plays the flute, and has been since fifth grade. Toby says they decided to join band because, “I thought music was really cool and the little test we took for sounds Mrs. Colonel said I was good at telling what notes were, so I felt cool,” and Toby also wanted to play the piccolo or trumpet! Toby jokingly says that her favorite band memory was when she fell on the bleachers and supposedly Mrs. Colonel asked if the flute was okay, Toby also shares that she did indeed hurt her finger that day. Although Toby doesn’t plan on continuing band in college, she did think it was really fun and a cool learning experience.
Those are all of the band seniors who answered my questions! Thank you all and we all wish you the best when you graduate!
