As the buses full of students and chaperones pulled into Sapulpa on Monday, the entire rest of the student body of the high school gathered alongside members of the community to cheer and welcome the band students back from Flagstaff, Arizona, where they won the 2A Championship, as well as awards for Outstanding Music Performance, Outstanding Visual Performance, and Outstanding General Effect.
Whitney Yocham, who has served as Director of Bands for the last two years, told Sapulpa Times that the Bands of America Regional in Flagstaff, Arizona was just one of several regional (and something called “super-regional”) competitions in the nation leading up to the Grand National Championships in Indianapolis. Yocham said she chose this competition intentionally.
“We chose the Arizona Regional because of the competition typically found at this event,” she said. “Many great bands typically attend this competition so it was a great way for our students to compete against and see some really fantastic bands, while also still being competitive.”
Yocham added that this was the very first time Sapulpa ever attended this particular Bands of America Regional.
The preparation for the performance began the last week of July and continues all the way through the fall season. For its part, the color guard begins even earlier and rehearses through the entire summer. The practices can be long and grueling. “Starting at the end of July and into August, all of our students have rehearsal from 7:30 am-3:30 pm every weekday,” Yocham said. “Once school starts they rehearse every weekday morning from 7 am-8:45 am, as well as Tuesday evenings from 4:15-7:30 pm. And that’s all while still attending parades, football games, and of course marching band competitions on Saturdays. They work hard, that’s for sure!” Yocham estimated that at least 200 hours or more had gone into the preparation for the award-winning show.
Aside from the long practices, there’s a lengthy amount of preparation time that goes into each show, from all those involved, including color guard and booster parents.
“We start with a show concept and work outwards from there to choose music, props, costumes, etc.,” Yocham said. “We have a great design team that helps us to develop the show, and then that design team writes the drills and music, and helps develop the costume and prop ideas. Then we take their designs and implement them—our booster parents help build the props, we order costumes and flags, and we work on the music and drill in rehearsal. Our Color Guard Director, Megan Howerton, writes our guard work. She looks at the drill and then writes the guard moves to fit with the music and drill. It’s quite a process!”
With all the moving parts going into each performance, there’s an immense amount of satisfaction in seeing the final product. “Seeing all of those different pieces come together is my favorite part!” Yocham said.
See the performance at Friday’s game against Glenpool here on Chieftain TV:
Since the Big Blue Band had never performed in a competition of this caliber, they weren’t entirely sure what to expect when competing in Arizona. “We felt like we had a shot at finals, but we weren’t positive,” Yocham said. “I think we were all pretty shocked and excited to also be named Class Champions—that was pretty awesome!”
After the competition, the band made good use of their time in Arizona with a trip to the Grand Canyon and the Bearizona Wildlife Refuge. Yocham said the students “absolutely loved” both experiences, and said it’s an important part of the trip. “It is important to me that our students get opportunities to see and experience the world beyond our own state,” she said. “I think those kinds of opportunities to see other places, cultures, and ways of life are invaluable for our students and their growth. They definitely enjoyed it and hopefully, it will be something they remember for a long time.” See photos from those trips on the Sapulpa Bands Facebook Page:
The last home football game for Sapulpa will be Senior Night on November 3rd, and will be the last opportunity to see the band perform their award-winning show. Don’t miss your chance to see it!
