Manawa band attends summer camp

By Holly Neumann

Brittany Besaw practices marching.

Molly Suehs, instrumental music teacher for the Manawa School District, is working hard to better her students.

One component of that includes marching.

During the summer months, 45 of her students attended camp to improve on that.

“Marching camp is nothing new to the field,” said Suehs. “We do the bulk of the training during the summer so that it can be second nature when school starts.”

According to Suehs, the band worked on such things as kinesthetic.

“We worked on marching left foot first on beats one and three, keeping the horizontal lines and vertical lines perfectly straight,” she said. “Although this sounds easy, it’s really not. When you have 45 kids, trying to do the same thing, at the same time, it’s quite difficult.”

Anthony Anunson, who is a sophomore trumpet player, agrees.

“I am the right guard and leader of my row,” he said. “Staying in line is not easy and footwork is even harder. We have gotten better than last year.”

“It takes a little while to learn to do it, but once you find beat and you are in rhythm with your feet, it’s really not that hard,” said Sophomore Carlene Beyer.

Suehs added that it takes a lot of discipline and tenacity to accomplish a perfect performance.

“We also work on confidence while marching,” she said. “Students were instructed to keep their chins up, shoulders back, and elbows out while marching.”

She noted the importance of parade goers to see the band at their best, no matter where they are sitting along the parade route.

The students seemed to enjoy the camp as well.

“It is a lot of fun,” said Melady Brennan. “I really like marching. Camp was very beneficial.”

“Mrs. Suehs makes it extremely fun,” added Ani Torres-Mottle.

The band had its first performance following marching camp during Manawa Rodeo Parade, on July 4.

Based on their performance, camp was a success.

“The students began owning the program and started to feel pride for how far they actually came in such a short amount of time,” said Suehs. “With the leadership of our upperclassmen they did awesome. I am so proud of those students who really worked hard with their line to make it the best it could be.”

Without a doubt, the hard work is paying off.

“I learn something new every year,” said Daniel Teuscher. “Every year we work harder, we get pushed harder and it shows.”

“There is a lot of growth over the summer months,” said Jacob Brickey. “Mrs. Suehs always makes sure that we are the best that we can be.”