Rain and wind blew through Columbus on Saturday, but 13 bands were unfazed when the Mid-States Marching Band Invitational at Columbus North High School moved indoors.
With unrelenting rain all day, the host Sound of North Marching Band had no choice but to abandon plans to hold the competition outdoors on Max Andress Field. The competition moved to the North gymnasium, where an estimated crowd of 2,000 could enjoy the music without getting wet — but without the usual marching and choreography.
Sixteen high schools from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky were scheduled to perform, but three — Columbus East, Pleasure Ridge Park in Louisville and Scottsburg — canceled due to the weather, said Bill Stultz, North director of bands.
Marching band directors who attended Saturday’s invitational said while their students are used to performing their shows on football fields outdoors, being inside was a different experience due to space constraints, acoustics and other factors.
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“When we’re outside, the sound is everywhere,” said Paige Hewitt, band director with Tri-West High School in Lizton. “(Being inside), it definitely does present a challenge.”
But Hewitt said preparation was key for her group of 20 marching band members and five individuals on the color guard.
The Tri-West students were able to practice in their school gymnasium before making the trip to Columbus North, allowing them an opportunity to adjust their show for indoors, Hewitt said.
Hewitt said she thought the Tri-West marching band put on a great performance of its show, “Consumed,” featuring music selections such as “You Are My Sunshine,” “No Place Like Home” and “Consumed.”
“They just had to focus on the music,” she said. “Taking that marching element and shrinking it down to a gym size, yeah, we definitely had to adjust to that.”
Morgan Walts, a sophomore drum major from Monrovia High School, said the rain prompted her group’s 48 marching band members and 11 color guard members to also practice their show indoors before arriving at Columbus North, something it had never done before.
However, she said performing indoors — in a space far smaller than a football field — didn’t allow the marching band to showcase visuals from its “Twilight” show.
“It’s more fun to watch where everyone’s moving,” she said. “But practicing inside, that really helped us prepare to know what to expect. I think we were best prepared as we could be.”
Columbus East Olympian Spirit band director David Rodgers said his group’s inability to practice indoors was one factor in canceling on Saturday. That limitation meant being unable to adjust for sound volume variances between outdoor and indoor venues, he said.
Stultz said performing indoors produced challenges for all of the marching bands that turned out.
The host 160-member Sound of North, performing last in exhibition, was able to prepare for its robotic-themed show, “Power Up,” despite the weather conditions outside.
“We knew it was going to happen,” Stultz said of the weather switch. “Everybody’s got to figure out a way to make it work.”
Scott Cooksey, band director with Louisville Male High School, said his band members hadn’t had to perform indoors for four years, recognizing that the weather was “something out of the ordinary.”
Still, he was pleased with his group’s performance of its show, “Winter Solstice,” adding that the band was able to practice for 45 minutes before departing for Columbus on Saturday.
“It’s a lot of obstacles to overcome,” Cooksey said.
Josh McKenna, who was among 50 Sound of North parent volunteers assisting with the event, said he thought the bands did well considering the weather-induced change of plans.
“You’ve got to roll with the punches when the weather changes,” said McKenna, whose daughter Hannah is a junior with the Sound of North band.
Judges evaluating each performance also had to adapt to being indoors, said Joe Poio, who has been judging band contests for 13 years.
There is only so much judges can evaluate inside a gymnasium compared to being outside, Poio said.
“You try to judge consistently,” he said.
Poio said he specifically looks at criteria such as the range of dynamics, sound, wind articulation and percussion dexterity in each performance, but acknowledged that was somewhat difficult indoors.
Still, he said the marching bands performed better than he anticipated.
“They deserve a lot of credit for being as flexible as they are,” Poio said.
Visitors such as Jackie Davis, whose daughter is a junior and a color guard member at Pendleton Heights, said she was enjoying being able to watch everyone perform. She was among at least 30 band parents from Pendleton who traveled to Columbus North for the invitational.
Davis said being indoors offered a different experience since Pendleton’s show, “Spintronics,” involves a band member being spun in a steel wheel across the football field while playing an instrument.
That element wasn’t included in the school’s performance Saturday due to space constraints, said Davis, who noted that students are required to be flexible.
“We would rather see them march and see the choreography and the formation,” Davis said. “It’s a different performance, but they’re prepared for it.”
The Bloomington South High School marching band’s performance in Columbus was its second that day, junior Tess Flynn said.
The 80-member band participated in an exhibition at Decatur Central High School earlier in the day, she said.
“It’s not a bad experience,” Flynn said of playing indoors. “We’re having fun with the circumstances we’re having. It’s not something to be bummed out about.”
The weather likely contributed in a dip in overall attendance, but concession revenues remained strong, said Amy Jackson, president of the Columbus North Band Booster club. The invitational is the largest fundraiser for the Sound of North, providing revenue for band-related expenses.
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Class A: Up to 35 members
Shawe Memorial High School, first
Madison High School, second
Tri-West High School, third
Class AA: 36 to 50 members
Monrovia High School, first
Rising Sun High School, second
Connersville High School, third
Class AAA: 51 to 70 members
John Hardin High School, first
Class AAAA: 71 to 100 members
Pendleton Heights High School, first
Louisville Male High School, second
Open Class: 101 or more members
Floyd Central High School, first
Bloomington South High School, second
People’s Choice
Louisville Male High School
Sweepstakes
Floyd Central High School
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Columbus North marching band invitational
2,000: Estimated attendance
50: Number of parent volunteers from Columbus North who assisted
13: Number of bands competing
3: Number of bands that canceled because of the weather
7: Number of judges
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