The bright, sunny morning was in stark contrast to the theme that Stroud Band Director Kevin Couch described as his students took a water break around him.
It was the second to last day of the marching band’s week-long camp, and he was no stranger to saluting their progress before describing this season’s show, which is storm themed.
“We’re doing ‘Eye of the Hurricane.’ It’s by Luke McMillan,” he said. “I’m writing the drill… Right now we’re still solidifying how many people we’ve got before we start getting into drill, but drill’s going to go really quickly.”
The marching band program has grown exponentially during Couch’s tenure. He’s starting his fourth season at the school and said he had about six students his first year. This year, the band is looking at around 52 to 55. What’s more, they’ve taken to the work quickly.
“In years past, we have not been anywhere close to this,” Couch said, referring to the marching exercises the students had been working through. “They’re really maturing quite rapidly. I’m pleased with that.”
He added that the first year he was at the school, it took a week to get through a couple songs, but the day before, his students worked through 10 stand tunes and wanted more.
His wife and assistant, Charlotte, echoed the sentiment, saying that the band has been doing fantastic and its the best year so far.
“They’re learning the fundamentals extremely well,” she said. “And even those new ones we have, they’ve made so much improvement in the last three days.”
The excitement for this season is high, with Couch saying that they’re getting new uniforms, as well as returning to Oklahoma Bandmaster’s Association (OBA)1A-3Acompetition.
Haley Williams, drum major, said she is most excited about how big the band is this year.
“We can get a lot more done with how many people we have,” she said. She added that this year’s show is cooler and edgier than normal, including music from artists like AC/DC.
For sophomore Sean Birdwell, it’s about playing at the games.
“Playing in the stands, ‘cause its always such a fun thing to do,” he said.
Alexa Gregory, senior, howeverislookingforward to the competitions.
“Being able to walk around and meet new people.There’s a lot of new people,” she said.
All three are hoping to win sweepstakes, though Williams said that she hopes the band only continues to improve.
“Keeping up with the same thing we do every year -- not falling behind. Not getting worse than we were last year. Like, just getting better every year,” she said.