“Eréndira The Warrior Princess” (Ashley Laurie, Central Nebraska Today)
LEXINGTON — The Pride of the Minuteman Marching Band is prepared to enter the Halls of Montezuma in their 2024 show, “Eréndira The Warrior Princess.”
The members of the Lexington High School Pride of the Minuteman Marching Band were busy this week at band camp, learning the marching fundamentals, memorizing the music and becoming familiar with their sections.
LHS Band Director Spencer Hansen said the show the band is performing this year is “Eréndira The Warrior Princess,” a three movement show produced by Fannin Musical Productions.
“According to Aztec culture, there were no women warriors except for Eréndira, the Princess of Purépecha. The 16th century legend tells of a young heroine’s bravery refusing to allow her land to be destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors,” per Fannin Musical Productions website.
“The emotional marching band music depicts the strength and beauty of this warrior princess using original themes rich with colorful scoring and a modern, world percussion soundscape,” the website states.
Hansen said while the show has three different movements, there is constant movement and sound between each part, not the hard break most shows utilize.
Due to this, the front ensemble on the field is asked to do more than usual and there will be more sound effects than usual to help complement the show. Hansen also noted there is a flute solo featured during the show.
Hansen noted that this show is notably more difficult musically than shows they have performed in the past. He said the directors have listened to the show in the past, but other area bands chose to perform it.
The band this year will number an impressive 220 students from all grades.
LHS Band Director Chad Scharff said this year they have the largest drumline, pit and color guard sections than they have ever had.
Hansen said while a large group of seniors graduated, they were replaced by a large group of incoming freshmen.
When asked what the marching band focused on during band camp throughout the week on Thursday, Aug. 8, Hansen said they focused heavily on the music and the marching fundamentals.
The directors said they pulled aside the freshman class to give them more time to grasp the marching fundamentals and catch them up with the upper classman, who have been on the field before.
Band Director Sarah Ernst is in her third year of teaching at Lexington. Ernst played clarinet with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s marching band for two years before becoming a drum major for her final year.
When asked what has changed for her in three years, Ernst said she has now seen all of the students at different grade levels and there is no need to learn names anymore.
Ernst said she also has a better feeling for the flow of the marching band season.
Scharff added that Ernst has a better idea of which teaching techniques work best for certain students and is building off of what she started in her first two years.
The band isn’t the only group working hard, the color guard under the direction of Melissa Welch has also had their noses to the grindstone.
The guard is her largest group to date, 22 total members, 19 girls and three boys.
With so many new members, Welch said she has been working on the basic skills of handling a flagpole and their foot work. She noted that the group has been a quick study and is picking up quickly.
While the marching order for the band is written by an outside drill writer, Welch is the one who creates the drill for the color guard, with the goal of visually representing the band and bringing the story they are telling musically to life.
Welch said while the flag silks were bought with the show this year, she is also responsible for creating the costumes for the color guard. She said they must be both comfortable and durable to weather a fast paced three movement show.
She said her message to the color guard each season is that they are the visual complement to the sound the audience is hearing.
Speaking to their further work as directors, Scharff said they work each band camp to maintain the long tradition of excellence the band has achieved and for the students to take pride in continuing it.
Hansen said the marching band season is a long process, and he said they do their best to show the younger students that the work they put in each day will pay off to a greater whole by the time competition starts.
Another unique characteristic about the Lexington band is that while they are part of a large school, Scharff said band and color guard members are involved in a host of different activities. He noted that over a dozen football players are also part of the band.
He noted they have to take care when planning band events as they have to take the other fall activities into account.
The Lexington band will take part in three competitions this year.
Like the past three years, the band will take part in the Elkhorn Sounds of Excellence Marching Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 12 at Elkhorn High School.
The competition at Elkhorn will come in the form of AA bands that are much larger in size.
Lexington may be one of the smallest bands attending the competition, but they left their mark in 2022 earning a superior rating, first place in their class and third place overall.
The band has earned superior ratings at all of their performances, reaching back to 2010.
The second competition will be the Lincoln Public School Marching Band Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Seacrest Field in Lincoln.
The last competition, the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association State Marching Competition will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Kearney High School.
