Waynesburg University’s band hosted its first concert of the 2017-18 school year in the Marsh Center, located underneath the Chapel, Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 5:15 p.m.

Both the fall and mid-winter concerts are held in the Marsh Center with the audience encircling the band, composed of students, alumni, faculty and community members. The Christmas and Spring concerts are held upstairs in the Chapel, accompanied by the Lamplighters concert choir.

All of the university students and faculty, as well as the community surrounding the university were encouraged to attend.

Each concert is organized out to coincide with a specific theme, usually based off which instruments are available in the group. The theme throughout last year’s concerts were movie soundtracks, featuring selections from big name productions like Star Wars.

This year’s first concert highlighted the theme Music of the Southwest United States, featuring strong Hispanic pieces such as “Fiesta” and “El Camino Royal.”

Some students took it upon themselves to purchase mini maracas to be shaken by members not playing during certain songs.

The band is comprised of 40 university students, but there are 50 members in total.  The extra 10 positions are fill-ins from community, adjunct-faculty and alumni.

The band’s director, Ronda DePriest, wanted to really challenge her students right off the bat, and her efforts were “well rewarded.”

This year’s group, DePriest described as the “cream of the crop on campus,” and a group of overall “good people” who just “love playing good music well.”

The band meets for two practices a week in the Marsh Center which only reaches a total of two hours and 30 minutes while other college programs typically achieve 4 hours.  This provides members with incentive for “rigorous practicing” and a need to push themselves according to DePriest.

DePriest noted that not all of the band’s members are music majors. In fact, few are. Some are Nursing or Criminal Justice, two majors that have full schedules yet students still make time for practices.  It becomes their “stress relief time”, even though DePriest keeps the pressure on to “perform on a collegiate level.”

In addition, students are required to practice on their own time.  Members are currently trying out a new teaching tool called “Smart Music” that plays music alongside the member. So far, DePriest feels it “has enhanced their personal practice and made rehearsals a lot smoother”.

Every year DePriest hopes for every musician to achieve personal growth, translating to the growth of the band as a whole.  She especially enjoys seeing nervous freshmen “become a little more relaxed and able to pay a little tougher music.”

“I like the pride that can kind of take in their investment,” said DePriest.

Freshman, Cassandra Wicker plays trombone for the band and, though she has been playing for six consecutive years, is still appropriately nervous for her first performance as a college student.

“Some of the pieces are high school friendly, then we have some pieces on the very highest level.  It’s very shocking as a freshman,” Wicker said.

As for her goals, they are quite simple.

“[Focusing on] improving and being on that bar with [the people around me], it can get really stressful to be at their [older band members’] potential, be as good as them,” Wicker said.

Captain of this year’s band Elizabeth Nicodemus was “excited for people to come and listen,” which she says makes all the member’s hard work worth it.