The Hixson High School Wildcat Marching Band, which is growing in numbers, will be marching to a different beat as part of its fall halftime show.
Hixson High Marching Band senior students trumpet player Valeria Lackey, drum major Madison Bennett and baritone player Wimberly Hall, from left, are leading the band this fall."We are working on 'Blue Angel,' a jazz tune," said HHS senior baritone player Valeria Lackey. "It's different because most bands don't march to jazz."
HHS Band Director Matt McHenry said a marching drumline will be featured at the beginning and end of the show. Midshow, the drummers will form an ensemble.
In total there are 55 band members, up from last year's 38, according to McHenry, mirroring a trend in the school's enrollment.
"It will be a great year," he said. "Each piece of marching band music represents a color."
The band's show begins by depicting the color red through a Spanish piece called "Malaga and Bolero." Then, the show transitions to the color blue with "Blue Angel," followed by gold, conjured up by the Beatles' upbeat "Here Comes the Sun" tune. The show ends with the color black as evoked by the Rolling Stones' famous rock song "Paint it Black."
"It's something everyone can get into," McHenry said of the show, which the band is already hard at work to perfect. "I wanted to reflect a variety of musical styles representing colors."
Lackey and fellow seniors baritone player Wimberly Hall and drum major Madison Bennett, who plays French horn, are working together to help McHenry lead the 2012-2013 Wildcat Marching Band in the right direction.
Bennett said being in the marching band is "an awesome experience." Hall said it will be what she remembers when she looks back on her high school years.
"We are all very dedicated to the band," said Bennett, adding that the band practices 22 hours weekly. "We live and breathe music."