This season, A-Band at FHC is back and stronger than ever, with nearly 100 members joining together to unleash loads of fun and school spirit to the basketball games. 

A-Band, a pep band specifically for basketball games, is constantly bringing positive energy to the team. The musicians are excited to see where the season takes them. A lot of the details regarding this group are not as known to the typical student — especially those who do not regularly attend basketball games.

This group does not have nearly as many rehearsals as other ensembles in the school year. Junior Sean Latta, in his fourth year of A-Band, says that the scheduling of rehearsals is typically the same each season.

“We usually practice once or twice a month,” Latta said. “As the season goes on, we rarely have practices outside of right before we [perform].”

Typical bands practice for a few months leading up to one big performance, often causing a sense of anxiousness and overall excitement among the members. Senior Cassie Heyn is one member who believes that the atmosphere within A-Band is different from normal practices and performances, even though their roster contains more songs.

“There’s a total of 42 pieces we can play,” Heyn said, “Typically we play about 10-15 of them but it’s very low pressure.”

Most musicians take a lot of pride in their participation in promotional events and activities. Senior Kyra Morris is no different.

“We have special nights for middle school kids to get introduced,” Morris said. “I feel proud that we get to have our little moments along with the game and everything sounds cool.”

Student engagement is one of many things that keeps both the band and the games exciting, and it is greatly encouraged by the members that spectators participate in these performances. 

“If students ever just want to sing along, [feel free],” Morris said. “We play ‘Thriller,’ and [we’re] just getting active, especially for the cheerleaders and dancers.”