On August 23, 2014 Dundee Days took place, and included family friendly activities and entertainment.

The Dundee Neighborhood Committee hosted this event. This school year Central’s marching band participated in Dundee Days by marching in the parade. “The Dundee parade is unique. The rest of the time we do half time shows,” said Pete Wilger, a band director at Central High School. Unlike the halftime shows that the marching band usually performs in, Dundee Days calls for the students to march in a more traditional way. “I had never marched in a parade before, it was both exhausting and exhilarating,” said Anna Overbeck, a sophomore clarinet player.

To prepare for this event, as well as the school year, all of the 122 students of the marching band started practicing on July fifth. The drum line also had practices in June. On top of that, band students also practice first hour in order to run through the pieces or shows that they have been working on. “We’re learning how to march and play at the same time; that’s a little different than halftime shows. The drum line has also had to learn new cadences [which are regular beats or rhythms] and the color guard has had to learn different routines to do the cadences,” said Wilger. As well as these cadences, the marching band is also working on perfecting Central’s fight song.

“Dundee is the closest thing to our neighborhood as far as neighborhoods go, and we like to support it,” added Wilger. Going along with the aspect of community at Central both the band and the Alumni Association strive to do as much as they can to support Dundee Days. With this celebration, the marching band is able to get in an early performance, which is another means of practice for the group. On top of that, the parade also doubles as a recruiting tool. “It gets us out there in front of students that could be coming to Central, almost like hey, look, you could be part of this organization,” said Wilger.

Wilger added that he was also very proud of the crisp sound and professional look of the marching band. These two aspects allow the musicians to entertain people and represent Central in a positive way. “Practice and enjoy getting better even if it’s just little by little. Because that is what’s going to make you a better musician,” said Wilger. This advice and all of the student musician’s hard work are key factors to the success of the band. “The band’s a blast and totally worth it,” added Overbeck.

“I wish everyone knew how difficult it is to move and play at the same time,” said Wilger. In order to learn these important foundations of marching band students have to put in a large amount of time and effort. “I’m proud to be a part of this organization and I’m proud that we’re able to represent Central at things like Dundee Days,” said Wilger.