SEMO band balances homecoming festivities and Bands of America preparation

SEMO’s marching band faces a unique challenge as Bands of America, hosted at The Dome of America’s Center, and the university’s Homecoming game both fall on Oct. 26.

The band must split their time between supporting the school at Homecoming and showcasing on a national stage at Bands of America. For many band members, it will be a whirlwind day, requiring precise time management and dedication to their craft.

Sophomore double major in english and music Sarah Chapman said the preparations for Bands of America start during the summer.

“Members of the band start practicing during early week and some started during the summer. We pushed really hard and made record time this year. By the end of early week we were able to finalize the opener, movement two and pregame, which is huge,” Chapman said.

Chapman said that having a support system helps motivate each other and makes practice more fun.

“It's a lot of work and pressure, so it's really important to have a good support system. It makes it harder to have that motivation, holding each other accountable and keeping your end goal in sight is such a huge thing,” Chapman said. “A lot of it isn’t just believing you can do it, and doing it for each other as much as you're doing it for yourself.”

Chapman emphasized the importance of not taking on more than you can handle and also prioritizing her schoolwork first.

“I have a planner so I write out everything that I need to do and when I need to do it. Usually classes come first, and then any extracurricular meetings I have comes second. I usually schedule homework time around then. Every once and a while my friends will tell me that it’s time to get out and have some fun,” Chapman said.

Like Chapman, many students use organizational tools and strategies to stay on top of their academic and extracurricular commitments. However, for students in performance-based majors the challenge of managing time can be even more demanding due to the added pressure of rehearsals and performance.

Junior vocal music education major Asa Faust said balancing time has been something that has been with him since he started marching band.

“Balancing time is something that has built into me from the beginning, I’m better at it now. I write everything I need to do in my schedule and every time that I need to practice. I’m not the type to write when I need to eat lunch but I know a lot of people in this major do,” Faust said. “Communication is something that is very important because I may have an assignment due at the same time I need to be somewhere else,” Faust said.

Director of band Jim Daughters said that the main priority for the marching band is to take care of themselves.

“The balance is making sure everyone is taken care of, students are fed, and that they are resting when they need to. We have the homecoming parade that morning, then we will rest for a while and eat, then the game will start and afterwards we will go on charter buses to go to the Dome,” Daughters said. “We don’t compete, they always invite college university bands to encourage kids to continue with band.”

Daughters added that the only additional pressure the band faces is the pressure they place on themselves.

“We are very concise of the fact that we’re not just representing the university, we’re representing the entire region, and community. When we do national things like this we’re representing Missouri, any pressure that we feel is pressure that we put on ourselves to be great,” Daughters said. “The closer you get to greatness, the more greatness pushes back.”