Schaumburg band to spend New Year bowl-ing
The Schaumburg High School marching band won't be home for this holiday.
Instead, the 250 students will have to brave the 80-degree temperatures to play on New Year's Day at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
The game pits the University of Wisconsin Badgers against the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Officials estimate Raymond James Stadium, also home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will be filled with 65,000 screaming fans.
"We're lucky if we get 1,000 people at any given football game," said Alex Miller, the band's drumline captain.
Miller, a senior, said the drumline hasn't ever performed in any competitions.
"This is a new venture for us. We've been telling the younger guys this something special that we've never done," he said.
The band members from Schaumburg will join those from 16 other schools across the country to play the halftime show. The other Illinois schools are Neuqua Valley in Naperville, Waubonsie Valley in Aurora and University High in Normal. Bowl officials say 5,000 students will perform.
Bands were selected from submitted samples.
Schaumburg students will leave on Dec. 26, traveling first to Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando to play the SpectroMagic Parade.
They'll perform against other schools on Dec. 30 in Tampa, hoping to earn awards in various competitions at the Outback Bowl Music Festival.
"We want to come back with some hardware," Miller said.
The Jan. 1 halftime show is called The Age of Aquarius, said show producer and director Jared Nelson. The game will be shown on ESPN and the high schools have already been sent sheet music and DVDs to help them prepare. The DVD features the halftime songs performed by the Troy State University band from Alabama.
Nelson has been producing the show for 21 years and has seen the positive effect on students. The experience of seeing college bands and meeting other students from all over the country is immeasurable.
"Travel is one of the best universities you can attend," he said.
Schaumburg Band Director Kevin Miller said students have been prepping since August, practicing music like The Who's "Pinball Wizard," BJ Thomas' "Hooked on a Feeling" and "God Bless America." Miller said he'll remind his students to be ready for the energy and atmosphere fueled by the crowd.
"You just play taller and prouder," he said. "You play better with this energy."
The band will be practicing in the winter temperatures Saturday, when the forecast calls for snow showers and a high of 30 degrees and a low in the upper 20s.
"We need to get prepared whether it's raining or snowing," band President and baritone player Kelsey Druckman said. "We're very dedicated to getting this done."
Nelson admitted schools from warm-weather states do have an advantage, as they can practice outdoors more often. However, Schaumburg kids still have hope to bring home some awards. Practicing in the cold air gives them a unique mental toughness.
"A lot of times students from cold, Midwestern schools do well," Nelson said.
Schaumburg will take five buses and a truck filled with percussion instruments down to Florida. They sold cookie dough, candy and plants -- among other efforts -- to raise about $215,000 for the trip. The band and the 22 parental chaperones are scheduled to return Jan. 2.
Coincidentally enough, Schaumburg Principal Tim Little, is a die-hard Wisconsin Badgers fan, having grown up in the state.