The 2023 marching band show, titled Lluvia, is about a desert landscape brought back to life after a storm. This is shown through four movements, titled Desert, Rain, Storm/Flood, and Bloom which display the process from dry desert to green forest through transitions, visuals, and strategic musical arrangement.
Usually, when writing a marching show, the designers start as early as November or December the year before the show is presented. The idea for the show is thought out, music is arranged or created, depending on the staff’s thoughts, and the rough draft is brought back to the staff by the designer in March.
After that, it goes through an editorial phase, where the music is finished and the small details are thought out and fixed. Once all the minor details are finished and the drill is written, the final show theme is presented to the marching band students in May.
“The idea for the marching show this year was a collaboration between me, Mr. [Matt] Rom, and the rest of our staff, who contributed to the design process,” Percussion coordinator and show designer Josh Spaulding said. “We all work together to work through some ideas and concepts, and pick one that we feel interests us.”
Visual aspects, such as t-poles with blue fabric to enhance the flood effect, color guard features, blooming trees, and solo/trio spotlights add to the show’s overall appeal and helps allow the audience understand what is happening.
“I think it is approachable from an audience perspective, and it has a good narrative to capture the interest of both the audience and our performers.” Band director Matt Rom said, “I don’t think that it’s super complex, it doesn’t try to tell too much where we are really struggling to make it all successful.”
Various circumstances and the number of people in the band can have an effect on what type of show and themes can be done, as well as the visuals and musical aspects included. Lluvia, which can be translated to “rain” in Spanish, is a theme that was considered in the past, but was not officially chosen until this year.
“We had thought about the idea of having a rain or a thunderstorm show for a couple years, and we finally felt like we had the right mix of songs and the right idea, as well as the right people in the band who would perform it really well to make it work.” Spaulding said.
The show was chosen this year specifically because many of the designers and creators felt that there was a good number of people, as well as the right leadership and mix of people.
Many of the students involved in the band share the same sentiments as Spaulding in regards to the show, and how it was designed/run.
“Everything kind of fits in the show.” Senior color guard captain Amanda Hoffman said, “It is organized pretty well, meets the time limit, and there are fast parts and slow parts, so it all helps the show run smoother.”
