Friday, August 26, 2011

New Season, new uniforms, same excellence..............




































The 2011 Marching Mustangs participated in multiple premieres this evening. First, the premiere of the new uniforms, which showed well on the field and showed the spirit and pride of the ensemble. Second, the band premiered thier first public performance on the new turf in the stadium at South High School.




As always, the band led well from the stands and "wowed" the crowd during halftime. The applause from the crowd was both generous and genuine. Great job tonight Marching Mustangs!















Friday, August 19, 2011

2011 Band Camp Finale Show

























Throngs of people gathered at Lakeview Junior High School this evening to experience the unveiling of the Marching Mustangs 2011 Show, "River Visions," featuring the music of John Mackey and Andrew Boysen, Jr.

Esprit de corps is defined as a sense of unity and of common interests among a group of people closely associated with a task or a cause.

This ensemble, and the supporting parents and community, have a palpable esprit de corps. Musically and visually, this show is impressive. The amount of work these students accomplished this week is impressive. However, most impressive of all is the experience of seeing a group of students, fully supported by a community of parents, moving in the same direction. This is going to be a really, really, really fun season............



Thursday, August 18, 2011

2011 Marching Mustangs Band Camp Finale Show




























Your 2011 Marching Mustangs are hard at work at Band Camp at Lakeview Junior High School. This morning, the hornline was working on perfecting a skill called "jazz run," a marching technique where students lower their center of gravity and cover real estate at a pace of 4 steps to every 5 yards.


The public is cordially invited to attend the Band Camp finale show on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 6:45 PM at Lakeview Junior High School. In addition to the unveiling of the 2011 Competition Show "River Visions," patrons will get to experience the section cheer contest, and, a summation of musical and movement learning during Band Camp. Bring your own chairs and come out and support the students of your Mustang Marching Band as they begin the performance portion of the 2011 competition season. Go Mustangs!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Marching beyond DGS...............

























South High School in Downers Grove and the Marching Mustangs continue to be well represented in a variety of marching activities beyond District 99.



During the week of August 11-13, the Drum Corps International Championships were held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Alums Brad Jones (Cavaliers,) Sam Bottorff (Scouts,) and Jessica Colip (Colts) performed and competed among the best marching ensembles in the world. Marching Mustang staff member Scott Oliver spent the summer touring with the Madison Scouts, working as part of the Scouts visual tech team. Returning South student Megan Schreck spent the summer performing and competing with the Colt Cadets from Dubuque, Iowa.



South High School Bands alum Tim Neumann is also trying out for the All-American Marching Band at Purdue University. Tim can be found at the end of this short video link:


http://youtu.be/tBHVsLcA-KI




If you have information about DG South students participating in any music activity outside the boundaries of Downers Grove, please contact department chairman Glenn Williams (gwilliams@csd99.org) so that the good news can be shared on this blog!