THE SHOW MUST GO ON: Under new direction, CMHS Marching Eagles prepares for upcoming season

Aug 5, 2016 9:15 AM Aug 5, 2016 9:26 AM

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BETHALTO - With the school year just a couple of weeks away, students around the area are preparing to head back into the classroom for days filled with lesson plans and homework assignments.

For the Civic Memorial High School Marching Eagles, the 75-member squad have been hitting the practice fields outside their school and their music rooms beginning at 8 a.m. every morning this week to sharpen their skills for the 2016 marching season.

Michaela Davis, the new band director for Civic Memorial and the beginning band and music teacher for Meadowbrook Intermediate School, has been having a blast with her new students so far during the camp. Previously, Davis was the assistant band director at Alton High School, worked with the Marching 100 and acted as the music technology teacher at Alton Middle School. She attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for her undergraduate degree and grew up in Troy.

The marching band looks incredibly sharp as they prepare to move to their next set. “The kids have been awesome,” Davis said as her students were taking a quick water break from their field show rehearsal. “It’s a bit of a change, since I’m the third director in three years, so it’s been rough. They’re working hard for me and I hope to be working hard for them.”

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Their hard work is clearly a testament to their fearless leader, of course. By Wednesday morning, the band had just finished learning their final set of the first movement in their field show.

“They’ve been phenomenal,” she said. “They came in Monday and that was the first day that some of these kids have met me but they’ve been listening and they want to do will. I’m one of those people who will take effort over talent any day, always.”

The Marching Eagles will be tackling a Latin-themed field show routine filled with songs like “El Gato,” “Perfidia” and “Latin Fire.” The song for the first movement of their field show will also serve as their tune for their upcoming parade competitions.

“It’s fun, it’s cute and the kids are going to love it,” Davis said about the show. The band will hit the football field at half time on Aug. 26’s game against Marquette Catholic High School and will perform the first song in their show.