The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton band program has increased in popularity and student involvement since Director Adam Hille’s arrival here years ago. It’s also increased in events that they participate in, including local town fairs and festivals like Janesville’s Hay Daze.
On Monday, August 26, the JWP marching band had the opportunity to play at the state fair for the fourth consecutive time during a street parade. Although it turned out to be arguably the hottest day of the year, followed by severe storms, the band had an overall positive experience, including getting featured on Kare 11.
Hille explained that he knew the state fair had parades involving marching bands and wanted JWP to get involved. Theresa Weinfurtner, one of the people in charge of running the state fair, sends a mass email to schools across the state of Minnesota area, inviting them to play in the state fair’s parade. As compensation for playing in the parade, the Minnesota State Fair provides a stipend for transportation for all bands that participate.
“Four years ago, we decided to check this opportunity out,” Hille said. “And the rest, they say, is history.”
This year, the band focused more on the execution of both the visual and the music aspects of performing as a marching band. “We worked on lines, feet placement, things of that nature,” Hille elaborated. “We picked the music a bit sooner than we had in the past so we could be memorized for the state fair, which was awesome.”
In terms of the experience of playing in the fair, it’s been similar to other years. Still, Hille felt the band took a step forward thanks to their ability to hire a color guard and percussion coach, allowing the drum line and color guard to receive instruction from their own respective coaches.
As with nearly all school-related trips, this was a learning experience for the band. Hille highlighted community, teamwork, dedication, and determination as four things the band learned from playing at the state fair. “Marching band is like a sport; it has the same fundamental concepts,” he said. “For all intents and purposes, marching band is a musical sport.”
Although the band mingled with students from other schools in years past, there wasn’t much opportunity to do that this year. The day JWP played with bands like Lakeville North ended up being arguably the hottest day of the year, with heat warnings all over the state. So, most bands were focused on staying cool instead of being social.
“We did a little bit of visiting in the parking lot beforehand with Lakeville North,” Hille explained. “But it was so hot, we ended up staying in our track tent. Lakeville North came to sit by us, but they huddled under the shade.”
The band had some time between activities to check out the state fair. Although they did end up having to drive through some severe storms in the Twin Cities, they made it home okay and were excited about getting featured on Kare 11. “That was fun,” Hille said.
Overall, Hille said that the marching band put on a solid performance. It was a great way for them to end the summer season. Now, the students will focus on learning new material in the band room while getting fans energized at home volleyball and football games.
