On Wednesday, April 23, the Manheim Township Marching Band officially started their season with a kick-off meeting consisting of an introduction of leaders and members, an election of officers and the highly anticipated theme reveal video for the field show this year.
After a successful execution of their previous field show, “Color Our World,” marching band members began to inquire to their directors about what the show theme could be, and the design team alongside staff began to plan.
“This year we locked on the idea of the theme of ‘Time’ and did not encounter any issues at all,” said color guard instructor Paige Paules. “Our design team felt it was a great fit for the 2025 band.”
“This year, we narrowed our options down from three or four strong contenders, some of which we’re saving for future shows,” said marching band director Mr. Siegel.
The show will feature the songs “Clocks,” by Coldplay in the intro, “Timepiece,” by Randall Standridge during the opener, “Meditation” from The Triumph of Time by Peter Graham for the ballad and “Clocks” once again during the closer which includes the marching band’s signature “TAG” at the end where they crank up the tempo of the show as high as they can.
”We all wanted Clocks by Coldplay right away,” said Paules. “It’s the perfect song for our theme and we knew the students, as well as the audience, would recognize it. We want them to hear it and say ‘Oh, I know that song!”’
Unfortunately for the show designers, a rumor of the show’s theme had emerged during their planning. A speculation that the theme would be about time had made its way around the school, stemming from the idea that it would match the theme of the previous band concert. In this case, the idea of ‘Time’ came from the band’s concert theme of Time in 2024.
“When you’re working with some of the brightest and most curious students in the school, it’s bound to happen,” said Siegel. “Personally, I think it’s hilarious.”
For example, in 2021, the band’s concert’s theme was Heroes and Villains. Two years later, the field show theme for the 2023 season was revealed to be “Heroes & Villains.” This coincidence occured again with the marching band’s 2024 season’s field show, “Color Our World,” which followed two years after “Earth,” the 2022 band’s concert’s theme. With the knowledge that 2023’s band’s concert’s theme was “Time,” it gave the members all the evidence they assumed they needed.
This does leave one question—is that theory true?
“Haha, no. It’s not,” said Paules. “The truth is that the design team, who chooses each year’s MTMB show theme, is not the same group that chooses the concert theme. Most of us on the design team don’t even know what those concert themes are from year to year.”
Hypotheses and guesses aside, band members’ reactions to the theme are all relatively positive.
“The allegations [of the show theme] made me more excited because I wanted to see if they were true,” said sophomore Norah Earley, music and marching section leader for the flugelhorns. “I felt very excited to learn what music we would be playing!”
“I loved the show reveal,” said fellow sophomore Alex Luu, color guard captain. “The entire concept is so cute and the name is clever and cheeky.”
Alongside the show reveal, members who served at least one year in the marching band previously, voted on officers for the marching band. The band members nominated each other for president and these candidates were then instructed to explain why they want to be band president. The candidate who received the most votes would be named band president and the runner up would be the vice president.
Junior Elana Zoltowski was elected president with fellow junior Noah Fox serving as vice president for the upcoming band season.
Zoltowski has been in marching band since her freshman year and alongside her duty of president, will be the clarinets’ music section leader and the woodwind captain.
“It’s such a surreal feeling to be voted into a position like that and realize fellow members look up to you and support you,” said Zoltowski. “I want to make sure everyone feels welcome to come to me for any questions, concerns, support, or to just talk to and become friends with.”
Fox, much like Zoltowski, has also served three previous years in marching band and will be the low brass music section leader and brass captain alongside his role of vice president
“I wanted to be an officer because I wanted to give back to a community that has already given me so much,” said Fox. “I see myself adding on to the job system by making jobs easy to see. I plan on using [a job board] in conjunction with my own job schedule to make duties easier to see.”
With each new season comes new connections, hopes and goals. Many leaders, including drum majors Sophia Jin and Andrew Wicht, are excited for the upcoming season.
”I feel so grateful that I’m given this opportunity to lead and help others in an entirely new way,” said Jin. “As drum majors, I hope that Andrew and I work well together to continue the culture of the band and hopefully make it even better.”
To see MTMB bring “It’s About Time” into life, progress can be seen on their instagram (@mtmarchingband), their shows at pregame or halftime during football games, or Saturday showcases. These dates and other information about the marching band can all be seen on their website.
