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The Murray County Central High School marching band had a stellar outdoor season this year under the direction of Michael Helgeson.
The 2023 marching band includes 67 students in grades 9-12. Two color guard coaches, Janese Siedschlag and Katie Gillette, complete the group. “I thought our season was very successful,” Helgeson said. “The students really stepped up and grew throughout the season.”
The Rebel season starts during the county fair with the Prairie Days parade, and although it is not a competition, Helgeson said it is a great way to be visible and give back to the community. “Our competitive season has three parades — The King Turkey Day parade in Worthington, the Tri-State Band Festival in Luverne and Top Gun, which starts with the Maverick theme and ends with Danger Zone,” Helgeson said.
Like every year, Helgeson said the biggest challenge is juggling the loss of students to other activities but they adapt. “The great thing about a small school is that the students are able to do so much,” he said. “We do our best to share the students across all activities, but conflicts do arise.”
Much like other activities or sports, there is typically a great deal of noticeable progress that takes place over the course of the season. Helgeson said he enjoys seeing significant improvement happen as the competitive season heats up. “I believe the best part of marching band is taking a group of students and continually working throughout the season to improve ourselves,” Helgeson said. “There is always something that we can find to improve on and if we do that throughout the season, the sky’s the limit!”
The Rebel marching band will cap off their season with an indoor marching concert beginning at 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30 in the MCC competition gym.
