More Than Music: West Side Marching Band Showcase Brings Students Together

 

On October 10, the Hazelwood West High School football field will become a gathering place for music, family, and community as West Middle School, Northwest Middle School, and West High School marching bands come together for the West Side Marching Band Showcase and Family Picnic.

For Hazelwood West sophomores Caden Johnson, drum major, and Jisselle Thomas, flute section leader, the event represents much more than an opportunity to perform. It is a chance to connect with other young musicians, showcase what their band has worked to accomplish, and inspire the next generation of students.

“I’m so excited to hear what they have to play and what they have to show us,” Caden said.

Jisselle is looking forward to the same exchange of musical ideas—but she is also excited about what the event means for the younger musicians who will be watching. “I’m ready to be a role model,” she said.

The West Side Marching Band Showcase brings bands from across the West Corridor together for an experience centered on music and community.

For Jisselle, seeing other schools perform is one of the most exciting parts of the event. She is particularly eager to see students from the middle school she attended and discover how other programs have developed.

“I want to see how other high schools play,” she said. “It’s so fun getting to see other people’s experience, and getting to connect with them through that experience.”

Rather than viewing the participating schools as separate groups, Jisselle sees the showcase as an opportunity to bring everyone together. “It is really all just one big band,” she said.

That spirit of connection is something both students say defines their own band experience.

Caden has been involved in band since fifth grade, while Jisselle began in seventh grade and joined marching band as a freshman. Over time, both found that the experience offered much more than simply learning an instrument.

For Caden, band became a community—a place where he could find people who shared his interests and feel connected.

Jisselle describes a similar sense of belonging. She was drawn to marching band because it combined her love of music with being outdoors, but the people around her helped make the experience meaningful.

“It’s like the community of everyone being together, just making one big sound,” she said.

That community will be on display October 10, when students from different programs gather on the Hazelwood West football field.

The showcase also allows Caden and Jisselle to step into a new role.

As high school students who have benefited from older musicians' guidance, they understand what it means for younger band members to have someone to look up to.

Jisselle remembers the influence of her former section leader and how much that older student helped her grow. Now, she finds herself in a position to offer that same encouragement to someone else.

“At first, I thought it might be intimidating,” Jisselle said of becoming a role model. “I’m used to being the one who has to look up to somebody else.”

But she has come to embrace the opportunity. “I want to be a teacher when I grow up,” she said. “So, seeing that, and being able to help them–it’s very melancholic, but it’s sweet.”

For Caden, the idea is equally personal. He remembers not knowing what a drum major did when he was younger. An older student eventually became his role model and mentor.

Now he hopes to provide that same inspiration.

“I want those smaller children just to look up and be like, ‘Oh, I want to be a drum major one day, too,’” Caden said.

While the showcase brings musicians together, Caden and Jisselle are also proud to represent Hazelwood West.

They describe their band as a smaller program that nevertheless works hard and strives to perform at a high level.

“We’re not huge,” Jisselle said, “but I think we grind anyway.”

That work ethic is supported by a band culture in which students contribute ideas, help one another, and keep improving.

Caden describes the experience as “more like a contribution than a program.”

“Everyone feels like they’re adding something to the bigger picture,” he said. “When we finally get on the field, and we finally do our drill, and march everything, everyone comes off the field feeling so accomplished.”

That shared sense of accomplishment is exactly what they hope to bring to the showcase.

For both students, marching band ultimately means more than competitions, football games, and performances.

Caden loves the excitement of marching band—the competition, the energy of the football stadium, and performing under the lights. But he says the relationships are what make it special. “On top of that, just connectivity, family,” he said.

Jisselle describes music in similarly personal terms. Her experience in band has changed how she thinks about music and herself. “Band is life,” she said.

She believes there is a difference between simply playing an instrument and actually making music with other people. “Everybody makes beautiful music,” Jisselle said. “No matter what.”

She also offers a simple reason music still matters: “There’s no expiration date on music.”

On October 10 at 12:30 p.m., the Hazelwood West High School football field will be filled with the sounds of marching bands coming together for the West Side Marching Band Showcase and Family Picnic.

For Caden and Jisselle, the day will be an opportunity to hear other musicians, share their own work, build connections, and inspire younger students.

But most importantly, it will celebrate the community they have found through music.

As Jisselle put it, the experience is about more than individual schools or sections. It is about musicians coming together, sharing what they love and creating something bigger than any one person. “It is really all just one big band.”