Northwood’s marching band and colorguard became honorary Trojans during USC’s Band Day on Sep. 7, where they performed alongside the USC band and ten other high schools at the football game against Utah State.
After only one rehearsal together, the group performed “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and “Country Girl” by Luke Bryan during the halftime show.
“I think it set a new standard for our band by seeing a college level band perform,” drum major senior Erica Zou said. “Their formations, playing and overall energy are a lot more professional and just an overall good example for our band.”
Northwood students were welcomed with a USC campus tour led by Northwood and USC alumni Tara Tanjasiri, who was a section leader for USC marching band.
Following the tour, they watched the first half of the football game in the LA Coliseum before their halftime performance.
“Events like these aren’t just for more experience playing music,” tenor drum player sophomore Max Haymes said. “They allow the people in the band to grow closer as a family while also getting to make music together.”
This was USC’s first Band Day since the pandemic and Northwood’s first college band event in 15 years.
“When the opportunity came along, we wanted to give it a shot,” music director Ben Case said. “It’s an incredible college marching band with an incredible long standing tradition of excellence, and it gives our students the opportunity not just to play side by side with them but to play at the Coliseum in front of thousands of people.”
In the week leading up to the event, attending colorguard members juggled additional rehearsals for both their Northwood and USC performances.
“We had to learn how to balance and make time for both sets of choreo,” colorguard member freshman Abbie Lau said. “It required cooperation skills because it was crucial to us that everyone understood what we were doing and all agreed on important decisions.”
Marching band and colorguard hope to use this experience to improve their performances at football games for the rest of the season.
“A lot of us are forever grateful for being able to be a part of something so special in high school,” cymbal player junior Alexis Su said. “It showed us how much dedication other schools put towards marching band, and I know people are impressed to where they want to try harder to make our show as best as we can.”
