Ten high school marching bands warmed up the pre-winter chill with colorful flags and spirited music Sunday.
The grounds of the Lincoln-Way High School east campus were filled with Chicago and suburban bands for the 5th annual Marching Knights Field Show Competition sponsored by the Lincoln-Way Music Boosters.
Bands from St. Rita, Thornwood, Reavis, Stagg, Andrew, Joliet West, Brother Rice/St. Laurence, Lemont and the 1999 grand champions, Thornton Fractional South, competed for trophies.
Lincoln-Way’s Marching Knights performed their field show featuring graceful movement to the music of Respighi, Ravel and Tichell as the grand finale.
Some competitors even included scenery, such as the sparkling faux marble pillars that rose and fell to indicate the Joliet West High School Tigers’ theme of the fate of the Roman Empire.
The Andrew High School Thunderbolts’ holiday theme was backed up by painted desert and seashore scenes set up behind a blue plastic river crossed by two rustic bridges.
The Lemont High School Marching Band members decked themselves in tartan caps and sashes to play music with a Scottish theme.
The Boosters sponsor the show as a fundraiser, and it’s a big draw, said Ken Sobkowiak, whose daughter Amy is a Marching Knights drum major. “We’ll probably end up with 1,500 to 2,000 spectators,”” he said.
Music Booster President Tom Greskowiak said the group raises funds for band equipment and travel, an expense that will increase when the Lincoln-Way district splits into two separate high schools, each with its own teams and activities.
“Especially this year with the split coming up, we’re trying to get enough money to split down the middle,” Greskowiak said.
All the work is worth it, said Greskowiak’s son Rob, a senior alto saxophone player and vice president of the Lincoln-Way band. Better than the trophies is “the feeling you get when you get done with the show and the people are all really standing up and screaming for you,” he said.
Hosting the competition and staging a performance is “a good opportunity for the band to perform without pressure,” said associate music chairwoman Janine Valkema. “They come out and they have a good time.”
Band membership is “a lot of work and a lot of fun,” said Lincoln-Way freshman clarinet player Ben Coughlin. The fun, he said, comes from “doing the shows.”
“It’s just nice to see the other bands,” said freshman Marc Hayes, a member of the Lincoln-Way drum line.
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The audience included some aspiring band members. Bailey Naughton, 9, of Manhattan, made her Lincoln-Way loyalties clear by wearing a hat decorated with long ribbons of red, black and white, the school colors.
“I might be a drummer,” said Bailey, who is preparing to follow in the footsteps of her brother, Jeremiah, a drummer who graduated last year.
While their rivals were on the field, several groups of color guards clustered at the tennis courts, practicing their intricate flag tossing maneuvers, and groups of musicians were scattered across the grounds practicing.
Vibraphone, xylophone and marimba players from Joliet West High School were squeezing in a last-minute run-through with music teacher Mike Zuziak.
The group will be very visible, senior Amanda Marconi said.
“We’re in the front of the field,” she said.
“We’re playing elaborate music,” junior Nikki Face said.
The Lemont High School drum majors, juniors Matt Doherty and Megan Markowski and senior Kelly Breeze, said they have an especially challenging job.
Conducting is “more technical,” Doherty said.
“It’s kind of hard when you have 100 people trying to do the same thing,” Markowski said. “We’re helping them to express themselves musically.”
Among the smaller bands, first, second and third place trophies went to St. Rita, Stagg and Reavis High Schools, respectively.
Among the larger bands, first, second and third place trophies went to, Andrew, Lemont and Joliet West, respectively.
Lemont High School won the award for best drum majors, and Andrew won awards for best color guard, visual display and general effect.