By CHRISTINA MUNSTER, Student Writer
Red and Black covered the field last Thursday, not only in football uniforms, but also in the marching band.
Forty-four student band members marched the field during their halftime performance.
Northwestern’s marching band is under the direction of Dr. Marc Decker. Decker is in his second year of directing at Northwestern.
Being Midwest born and raised and returning after his time at American University in Washington, D.C., Decker took the teaching opportunity at Northwestern as a “good change and pace of life, from the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C.”
Danny Pacula, a senior band member from Hennessy, Oklahoma, enjoys the direction the band is taking under Decker’s direction. Pacula plays the saxophone in the marching and concert band, along with the guitar in the jazz band. “I basically live in the Fine Arts Department,” said Pacula. “With the band, I have had the opportunity to travel, get other gigs and expand my musical knowledge.”
Freshmen flutist, Chloe Nutley of Elk City, Oklahoma, loves how nice everyone is in the program and her overall experience at Northwestern so far has been through the band. “I got involved with the band through Dr. Decker and it’s helped me make friends a lot faster,” Nutley said.
Decker plans to be at all of the home football games with his band this fall. The band has three big shows planned throughout the semester. The first having been on Thursday, entitled “Women Who Rock,” featuring music from Nicki Minaj and Christina Aguilara. The next show, during the Northwestern homecoming game, entitled “Heroes of the Wild West,” will feature music from Magnificent 7, Blazing Saddles and Ghostriders in the Sky by Johnny Cash. The last performance will be completely written and orchestrated by three students in the Marching Band Techniques Class.
With the first kickoff of the season, the band stood in the stands and performed at halftime, entertaining the Ranger crowd. “I was very proud of my students. The first performance is very nerve racking. It couldn’t have gone better,” said Decker.