CHS band marches home with some hardware

WASILLA — Members of the Colony High School marching band could be forgiven for feeling something of a comedown this week.

The band returned to Alaska about 10:30 p.m. Sunday after being feted across Indianapolis — and appearing on local television — for their performance at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. The event is billed as “America’s largest and most prestigious national marching band event,” according to its website, and regularly draws 12,000 student performers from across the country to Lucas Oil Stadium. Bands perform and are scored for the chance to represent their region to the semifinals, and the best regional performances are selected to perform in the finals.

Ultimately Thee Northern Sound was a single point away from advancing to the semifinals, but they did take home the Spirit Award, given on the bases of pride, sportsmanship, noise level and attendance for a single band. The award marks the first time a marching band from Alaska performed in the event.

Parents surprised the students with balloons, posters, and cheers at Ted Stevens International Airport on their arrival.

About 60 members attended as part of the band entourage, including parents, teachers and parent chaperones, according to Andrea Straughn, whose son Troy is a snare drummer for the band. Her husband Micah attended on the trip.

“The kids were just so happy and surprised, and we really wanted to greet them like the rock stars they are,” she said.

Unlike other bands, Thee Northern Sound — the only traditional marching band in Alaska — faced stiff challenges in prepping their act for performance, Andrea Straughn said.

For example, where other groups deal with falling leaves in preparation for their Indianapolis appearance, students in the band deal with falling snow.

“For the last rehearsal, the kids had to drive an hour into Anchorage to play on a dome,” she said.

The band — led by founding director Jamin Burton — also dealt with renting equipment and last-minute touchups to props damaged by 50-mile-per-hour winds in Indianapolis.

Students also travelled to the conference a day early, and jumped at the opportunity to help set up rehearsal space for some of the other bands.

Micah said everywhere the band went they were praised for the volume and quality of their performance. The band performed alongside other groups of as many as 300 students.

“They told us they couldn’t believe the amount of sound that came out of our band,” he said. “They were just astonished.”

Despite the long distance, high-speed winds and last minute touchups, Thee Northern Sound demonstrated composure for the performance, Andrea said. She tracked and rebroadcast the band’s performance via Facebook, posting hundreds of photos taken by her husband.

“They (the students) weren’t at all jittery and nervous,” she said. “They were just like professionals. It was the parents that were in tears.”

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.