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Bloomington North Marching Band
From Bloomingpedia
The Bloomington North Marching Band is the marching band for Bloomington High School North. An astute, devoted, remarkable group of high school musicians, they march in Class B of ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association). Placing very high at contests frequently, they have been to ISSMA State Finals in 2006 and finished fifth out of ten bands.
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Band Season/Competitions
Led by Thomas Wilson and Janis Stockhouse, the band's season kicks off in late summer, when Band Camp is held. At this week-long camp basic marching is taught to freshmen and rookie marchers, while the show is also being taught. After Band Camp ends, the Cougar Band plays at Bloomington High School North home football games, performing the show at halftime. Practices during the evening are held at North so that the show can be refined and improved. The band also starts competing at invitationals hosted by other area high schools: Warren Central, Brownsburg, etc.
Come late September the band competes at the District meet for ISSMA, trying to earn a Gold rating. If they accomplish this, they move on to Regionals two weeks later. A slightly more rigorous competition, bands must finish fifth or better in their marching class to advance to State Finals. The Cougar Band accomplished this at the 2006 Regionals at Warren Central High School, earning a trip to State Finals in Indianapolis' RCA Dome one week later.
2007 marching show
The 2007 Cougar Band show was entitled "Walking Through the MoMA". The show's music was modeled after the artwork styles of artists featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Stockhouse and Wilson visited the museum during the band's 2006 trip out east for the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade and liked what they saw. The show's first movement is modeled after Jackson Pollock, the second after Claude Monet, and the third after Piet Mondrian. The 2008 show, at this point, is to be decided.
Semistate for 2008
In 2008, the ISSMA State Finals will move to the Indianapolis Colts' new Lucas Oil Stadium from the RCA Dome, its long-time home. The finals usually are held on the third Saturday of October, however, due to a contractural obligation, Lucas Oil Stadium cannot be available for marching bands on the third Saturday of October 2008 and for a while onwards. The finals, instead, will be held the fourth Saturday, closer to the month's end.
Tom Wilson announced to an excited Cougar Band at a November 21, 2007 marching display at Tri-North Middle School that an ISSMA Semistate marching meet would now be held on Finals' old weekend. The top ten bands from Regionals would now advance to Semistate. ISSMA has two regionals, a North and South, for its tournament. Twenty bands will compete at Semistate, ten from both regionals a week earlier. The top ten from Semistate will now move on to State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Cougar Band is eager to achieve at this new competiton, to seek a spot at Finals in 2008 and beyond.
Postseason
The Cougar Band has made trips to parades after the marching season is over in past years. They must prepare for the parade by learning all new music. After the ISSMA season is over, they reconvene and practice. The past parades attended by the Cougar Band are:
- 1999 - Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade
- 2003 - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
- 2006 - Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
46th Annual Contest of Champions (2007)
In fall 2007, the Cougar Band placed sixth at ISSMA Regionals, after a fantastic show. Their season was not over, however, as they were attending the 46th annual Contest of Champions in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, hosted by Middle Tennessee State University. They travelled by bus to Murfreesboro and played two exciting shows at the contest. After spending the night in nearby Smyrna, they travelled to Nashville, TN for sightseeing, and then returned triumphant to Bloomington.
Bands of America Regional (2008)
The Cougar Band will participate in the 2008 Bands of America Regional meet in Indianapolis. It will be November 8, 2008.
Personnel/Band Sections
Thomas Wilson leads the Cougar Band, orchestrating practices and helping the band to learn new moves. He is assisted by longtime North Band director Janis Stockhouse. A group of specialists also helps with certain sections of the band.
The band is broken up into several sections: The Winds are any marchers who play a wind instrument (they make up a large portion of the band's total size); the Drumline are the marching drummers; the Color Guard are the band members who use flags and other accessories to bring lots of life and energy to the show; and the Pit is made up of percussionists who do not march, but stand and play percussion instruments like the xylophone, timpani, bells, etc. There are also Drum Majors who conduct the band at actual performances. The Drum Majors for the 2007 Cougar Band were Preston Hughes and Nathan Pratt, both students at Bloomington North.
Section Articles
Past Marching Shows
- 1993 - "Lord of the Rings" ("new" maroon and black uniforms with silver sashes and gauntlets replaced yellow and white uniforms)
- 1994 - "Armies of the Omnipresent Otserf" (the band's first State Finals, the show that gave the band the moniker, "the death band")
- 1995 - "20th Century Classics"
- 1996 - "Beyond the Storm" (the band qualified for State Finals with this show)
- 1997 - "Seascapes" (featured band members in bodysuits thrust into the air like dolphins)
- 1998 - "Dona Nobis Pacem" (the band qualified for State Finals with this show)
- 1999 - "Divine Comedy" (the band finished 6th at State Finals with this show, breaking a perceived "curse" of only qualifying alternating years.
- 2000 - "Requiem for a Fallen Angel"
- 2001 - "Apocalyptic Dreams"
- 2002 - "Dance Movements" (finished 10th at State Finals for this show)
- 2003 - "Bernstein"
- 2004 - "Fragments of Glass--The Music of Phillip Glass"
- 2005 - "In Unequaled Spirits--Music of Michael Torke"
- 2006 - "Urban Dances" (the band finished 5th at State Finals with this show)
- 2007 - "Walking Through the MoMA"
External links
Categories: Need Images | Bands | North side | BHSN
