Somewhere over the rainbow, the Platteview Marching Band practices early in the morning, three days a week, to bring to the field their new show: OZ. This year’s show brings together musical selections from the Wizard of Oz and The Wiz featuring crowd favorites: “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “So You Wanted to See the Wizard,” and much more!
Director Alex Steinke said the reason for picking this year’s show “provided a great opportunity for costuming, props, and scenery that can really make a show come alive on the field.” The band finds this theme to be significant because this year marks the 85th anniversary of the original movie, The Wizard of Oz, and the year of the spin-off Wicked musical movie coming to theaters in November.
This year the directors of the marching band decided to appoint leaders to become the band’s new leadership team. This past summer, the leadership team went to a seminar with other schools to learn what it takes to be a well-rounded leader. Members of the leadership team and others from across the district were taught training and exercises to determine what it means to be an influential leader in the band and how to deal with any challenges in their section that might arise. Drum Major Jude Perry provided one takeaway from the seminar experience, stating, “We learned the importance of listening to people, especially during conflicting situations in the band and how to better understand the needs of the entire band on a new level.”
The Platteview Marching Band’s first public performance will be August 29 at the first football game of the season. The band’s first competitive performance will be September 25 at the Trailblazer Marching Clinic hosted by Ashland Greenwood.
