The Panther Marching Band held its first concert in about eight years on Sunday evening.

Assistant Director of Bands David Boggs decided to bring back the concert because he said it was a great way summarize the band’s whole season.

Though typically held at the end of the season, Boggs said this concert was scheduled around the Doudna Fine Arts Center’s already existing schedule.

“This was the only spot the whole fall we could get in, so we plugged it in,” Boggs said. “The last two pieces, ‘Time Warp’ and ‘Thriller,’ are actually for the (homecoming game) halftime show.”

The homecoming game starts at 2 p.m. Saturday at O’Brien Field.

Colleen Kane, junior public relations major and a member of the color guard, performed her first solo during the concert.

“It was interesting,” Kane said. “There were a few ups and downs, but in the end it all turned out good.”

Kane said she had fun performing on her own for the first time.

Nancy Joslyn, Effingham, Illinois, said she and her husband attended the event to see their grandson perform like they have at every football game so far this year.

“We wanted to make sure we got a chance to come see this concert,” Joslyn said. “It was amazing.”

She said she was not surprised that she found the show amazing because that was what she had expected.

“This band has been incredible,” Joslyn said. “It is so much fun to see the kids grow (and) learn all the new songs.”

Joslyn said seeing so many of the performances this season has helped her see the growth in the band from the beginning of the season to now.

“These students learn so much every week and are changing programs every other week or so,” she said. “That’s been a huge growing experience.”

Hannah Smith, freshman special education major, plays the flute in the band.

Smith said the band dedicated the past week to rehearsing for this event since it was the first concert in so long.

She said she does get a little nervous before performing at football games, and though she has learned how to manage those nerves, she said she still felt nervous before performing Sunday.

“Practicing for it wasn’t stressful but knowing that we had such a big performance coming up with just people coming to watch us was definitely a lot of pressure,” Smith said. “I was nervous because usually we are just at football games, but I’m really proud of how this performance turned out.”

She said she is looking forward to the next season already.

 
Hannah Shillo can be reached at 581-2812 or hlshillo@eiu.edu.