Local high school bands combine at halftime show

BY SARAH LAUZON

Globe Student Intern

[email protected]

Bessemer - On Oct. 25, the high school marching bands from the Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco schools performed a halftime show during the Ironwood Red Devils vs. Gogebic Miners game at Massie Field in Bessemer.

The joint band, which included a total of 62 students, performed three songs. Each song featured unique group marching movements, with students marching in many directions, passing each other closely and forming various shapes on the field.

Bessemer and Wakefield students wore their Gogebic Miners jackets, with Ironwood students donning their Red Devil band uniforms.

The group performed under the direction of the schools' band teachers: Wakefield's Isaac Boehnlein, Bessemer's Josh Kepich and Ironwood's Kirk McBrayer.

All of the teachers participated in the training of the band members, and they each conducted one song on the night of the performance.

The band also performed a stationary pre-game show from the field's band shell, playing the national anthem and a few other fun tunes to get the crowd excited for the game. They even set aside their school rivalries to learn the fight songs of the other schools and played them for the crowd, which included many supporters of both teams.

The band members had practiced their on-the-field movements together for one school day in Bessemer on Oct. 23 and also rehearsed on the afternoon before the show. They had been working on the music within their own bands for the past few weeks.

McBrayer said that the most rewarding part of the show was seeing the students collaborate. "Any time we can get students from other schools together, it's a very positive thing," he said.

This event marked the second annual joint performance, with last year's show having taken place at an Ironwood home game.

According to McBrayer, the bands will perform jointly again next year.

"I hope we can make it an annual thing," he said.