Marching onto the field, the Band of Coyotes are back with their sixth marching show, The Mirrorball. The show movements, “Hard Times” and “Mirrorball” set, with the third movement, “Therefore I Am”, being finished recently. Rehearsals started in July, with three weeks of band camp before the school year started, and weekly rehearsals on Wednesday for the full band, with the color guard having an additional practice every Tuesday. These rehearsals are what perfect and excel the performances seen and scored by an audience and judging.
Football games are a huge part of band every year, and this year was no exception. One of the firsts for the year was their game on September 1st, and senior drum major Javier Quiles said, “The energy was super weird, just because I knew it was my last first game, it’s also been way more energetic, especially up in the woodwinds this year.” The band rehearses before the games. Repping and relaying Mirrorball and basics all while preparing their pregame show; which includes the Fight Song, the Alma Mater, and the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by a halftime show after the second quarter ends. In construct to her halftime show, woodwind captain, senior, and the soprano saxophone soloist during second movement said, “I like to sit in silence, really, because if I listen to loud music or like hype music or something it freaks me out. So, I like quiet, to stand by myself before we go out on the field. I go, I give my boyfriend a hug before we perform, and then I just don’t say another word until after. I just keep to myself and keep everything in mind.”
The first movement, “Hard Times” by Paramore begins to set up the themes of the show, being a mask one puts on around others. Katherine Strok-Feeley, the Cypress Creek High School band director said, “I was thinking and I finally settled upon ‘Hard Times’ by Paramore, because that entire album that we pulled that from, which is ‘After Laughter’ is literally all about that concept of having a mask on and pretending to be happy when, you know, on the inside, you’re not doing so hot.” The movement was the first to be set, including fun and bombastic music with visuals throughout.
Taylor Swift’s Mirrorball was the was the highlight of the second movement with featured senior Sydney Rucys, soloing on the soprano saxophone, as well as Georgina Horton from color guard with a dance solo in the beginning; represents the idea of losing yourself, breaking apart, and having to pick up the pieces. When asked about her feelings on the movement, soloist Sydney Rucys said “At first I was really scared of it, especially when we read it for the first time. But now, after however many months of practice with it, I feel very confident in myself and my abilities, and I think it’s one of my favorite movements we’ve played.” The piece itself is a ballad, it’s emotional and slow and features not only “Mirrorball”, but also melodies from Swift’s “Exile” and “You’re Losing Me”. This was the first piece made for the show, and the whole idea for the marching show started with this movement.
The idea for the movement came from a Long Pond Studios interview Taylor Swift did with her producer, Jack Antonoff in 2020, with Mrs. Strok-Feeley stating “I literally based the whole show off of that singular interview, and I wanted it to be all about being a different person in public versus being a different person in private, and how artists and musicians have to have this sort of persona when they perform, when they, you know, are different people at home, and that really resonated with me as a writer and also as a director.”
The third movement is set to “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish. Strok-Feeley explained, “Therefore I Am’ is symbolic of taking the mirrorball and shattering it, and shattering everybody’s expectations of this band, of ourselves, and of society. Because the mirrorball as a whole is a representation of what society thinks of us, and fitting in all of those like niche little holes that we have to fit in as people.” The third movement is fiery and intense, and represents the shattering of the mask, taking back your power, and not caring about others’ opinions and expectations. When discussing his feelings on the third movement, senior drum major Javier Quiles said “I’ve always loved movement three, and I still love it. The swing is very fun, and I love all of the crazy runs that the woodwinds, and especially the pit percussion have. It’s just very bombastic. I like it, and it’s awesome still to me to me to this day.” The movement has many unique riffs and melodies to stand out from the original, bringing energy and fire to a more laid-back song.