As the band gets bigger, so does the competition. For the BV Tiger Band, they made the choice to go to Bands Of America Grand Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana in addition to performing at state this year. For Drum Majors Ethan Oppold, Ainsley Hileman, and Lindsay Cho, the choice came from multiple factors.
“At Grand Nationals we want to make Semi-Finals because no band from Kansas has ever done that, so making it would quite literally be insane,” Oppold said.
Semi-Finals at Grand Nationals consists of roughly the top 30 bands out of nearly the top 100 bands going. Making Semi-Finals not only lets other bands know that your school is competition, but it lets people know that your band is in the top 30 out of every band in America.
“If we make semi-finals we are going to be put on a spotlight across the entire country because people from all over the country watch BOA Grand Nationals since it’s the last marching band event of the year,” Oppold said. “So, everyone is going to see our band from ‘little-old’ Overland Park, Kansas which they have never heard of because they think there’s nothing there and be surprised to see we made it.”
The real difficulty behind it is making sure that everyone is fully prepared and doing everything they could have possibly done leading up to their performance in Indiana.
“The challenge is that everyone there knows what they’re doing and they are actually good,” Oppold said. “Anyone who makes semi-finals really dominates other bands across the country.”
While challenging, the band has certainly prepared themselves with nearly over X amount of hours. In addition, the band’s senior class is something that might have influenced the choice to go to Nationals this year.
“We decided this year because we had a really good senior class and like any other activity, the stronger the senior class, the better everyone else tries to be like them,” Oppold said. “So in a way it kind of brings the skill-level up with them and we have that leadership where it’s not just a bunch of freshmen running around doing whatever the heck they want.”
As the band grows and changes, Oppold is optimistic about the future.
“People know what they are supposed to do, and do what they are supposed to do and together we are good.”
