The Lennox High School marching band is gearing up for an exciting season, and audiences are in for a treat. Under the direction of Ellie Kenkel, this year’s show, titled “The Junkyard,” promises to be a unique and energetic performance that showcases the creativity and talent of the band.
“Our show is entitled “The Junkyard”, and echoes the idea from The Black Market jingle (Benson’s Flea Market): one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” explained Kenkel. “There’s lots of junkyard props on the field and you’ll hear a lot of metallic sounds from the percussion. The music is very funky this year; we start the show with Melodious Thunk by David Biedenbender which we played at our Pops Concert two years ago. You’ll also hear Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf and you might catch some Thriftshop by Macklemore. Our show ends with our color guard creating something amazing out of the junk parts, and we have another great prop built by Al Osborn that we can’t wait for you to see! He truly outdid himself this year and this project was a labor of love and in memory of his friend, Dave.”
Preparation for the upcoming season has been intense. The band recently completed its band camp, where students learned and memorized all the music and drill for their eight-minute competition show.
“Compared to last year’s show, the music and drill is much more challenging, but we still finished by the end of band camp” said Kenkel. “We are now working on adding bodywork and special effects, fine-tuning marching technique, and deep cleaning our music and drill. This will be our focus for the rest of the season.”
The band features some standout soloists and sections that are sure to impress.
“Keira Tammen (tenor sax) has a very technical solo in the opener and Lauren Anacker (trombone) plays a gorgeous solo in the ballad,” said Kenkel.
“We have a very musically talented group this year and we feature all the sections throughout the show. The percussion section has some fun parts to listen for in the opener and second movement. The saxophones are doing a great job on their feature on Thirftshop, and the brass have a ridiculously hard feature in the closer. You’ll also see color guard features throughout the show,” Kenkel added.
The band’s goals for the season reflect their dedication to excellence and community spirit.
“We talked through what goals the students want to achieve this year and they came up with some great ideas. Their tops goals are putting together and performing a great show and that all members have a fun experience this season,” said Kenkel. “Other goals for the year are getting a standing ovation at a football game, making finals at Festival of Bands, and getting first at a competition in their class.”
This season, the Lennox High School marching band will compete at several events, including the Pursuit of Excellence in Marshall, MN, Tri-State in Luverne, MN, Big Sioux Review in Brandon, Festival of Bands in Sioux Falls, and to end the season they will compete at Youth in Music in Minneapolis, MN. They will also perform at halftime during all home football games and conclude their season with an Indoor Marching Show.
Kenkel encourages students, parents, and supporters to get involved and show their support.
“The best way to support us is to come out and watch our show at any football game or competition and cheer us on,” she said. “During a marching band performance, it’s very appropriate to cheer loudly after solos or features. If you want to support the band financially, the Lennox Band Boosters would love your support to help make our competition season possible.”
The following is a list of this year’s marching band students:
Seniors:
• Carson Maxfield
• Tyler Strasser
• Noah Sayler
• Alexus Horst
• Kolby Seeman
• Caleb Ellwein
• Carter Dose
• Megan Luvaas
• Zander Hazuka
• Keira Tammen
• Cade Maxfield
• Phillip Reiss
Juniors:
• Thomas DuChene
• Nathan Arens
• Miriam Welch
• Cheyenne Pick
• Mackenzie Gilland
• Tiegen Black
• Xander Millar
• Emersen Lee
• Alec Gates
• Noah Oien
• Aden Voeltz
• Elijah Johnson
• Gavin Swier
Sophomores:
• Noah Sitter
• Sam Bambas
• Isaiah Sayler
• McKenna Visscher
• Reba Schroeder
• Summer Deboer
• Allison Schulz
• Liz Hanisch
• Loralei Larry
• Ariana Poppens
• Rylee Lottman
• Jacob Carlson
• Maddigan Van Sickle
• Duncan Johnson
• Kaden Bullert
Freshmen:
• Isaak Booker
• Wyatt Crichton
• Lily Kezar
• Sierra Wesseling
• Blair Bostwick
• Olivia Homan
• Alaina Klenner
• Tayla Washam
• Brooklyn Seelan
• Ella Ellwein
• Willow Booker
• Chase Gervais
• Leo Aesoph
• Lukias Johnson
• Emma Snyder
• Grant Buhta
• Keegan Vander Plaats
Eighth Graders:
• Olivia Johnson
• Lauren Anacker
• Harper Lee
• Jaxson Johnson
• Chase Hazuka
• Natalie Aesoph
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