MANKATO — Amelia Wayne’s experiences with Mankato 77 Lancers echo what the fall corps has experienced in its four years since changing from a marching corps. She has found her place among the 110 members and is now excelling at it.
For the second consecutive year, the Lancers, with Wayne as a drum major, dominated at the Youth in Music Marching Band Championships Oct. 10-11 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Competing for just the fourth year, Lancers captured caption (section) awards in Class AA for best colorguard, percussion, winds and visuals. They reached the finals and took ninth place overall.
You might say they marched away from the competition in their category, where they compete against such schools as Hastings, a couple of Sioux Falls high schools and Waseca.
“The AA MN State Championship is truly an affirmation of the work of our students, staff, and volunteers and the support of our community, alumni and ISD 77 administration,” said director Brady Krusemark. “The growth that we’ve seen and the achievements of our students in just our fourth season of fall competition is remarkable.”
Wayne, a senior at Mankato East High School, joined Lancers her sophomore year as a flute player. The next year she applied for section leader and was asked if she wanted to interview for drum major. She got it, as well as having a flute solo.
“I always saw our drum majors doing it and I was always like, ‘OK, I want to be that person. I want to be leading and helping out other people and just be that person,’” she said. Of course, Lancers isn’t the only place she learned about leading the band.
She thought the position looked like fun “because it’s kind of like what my dad does with conducting and stuff.” Her dad, Nick Wayne, leads orchestras for the Minnesota State University theater productions.
Among the hands-on leaders are Michael and Sarah Thursby who coordinate percussion and colorguard and visual design, respectively. They also see the Lancers’ success as being a direct result of students’ hard work.
“We are honored and humbled to see the months of early training pay off in our success at finals, as the content of the visual show is very difficult and is being achieved at a high level,” Sarah Thursby said.
“To have a group that earns two state championships and in back-to-back years, to see the growth that this programs has had … is really a big deal,” Michael Thursby said. “It’s really a huge honor, but it’s also a testament to the hard work that the students put in.”
That includes rehearsing up to three times a week in the evenings and late nights at football games and weekend performances.
Winning the colorguard and visuals caption also shows how Lancers are evolving to match what is happening in what Michael Thursby called “the competitive marching band world.” In some ways, it’s coming to reflect competitions in the area of drum corps.
“It’s very much theatrical, and there are sets and costumes and it’s really elaborate in how these productions are designed and how they’re performed,” he said.
This year’s show, which will be presented to the Mankato community Oct. 23 at MSU, is “The Uninvited,” a dark and creepy show where the uninvited (portrayed by the colorguard section) tries to pull the rest of the band down with them, Sarah Thursby said. By enticing them, the colorguard is able to play with the themes of darkness and enticement, finally pulling one member in and pushing them off the back into their realm.
Said Krusemark: “Our students continue to exceed expectations as they’ve represented Mankato with pride and gained a reputation for excellence in the marching arts throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.”
While the performance quality is what gets seen, recognized and rewarded, the growth and development of individual members is probably what has the biggest impact. Wayne mentioned what being a drum major in the Lancers has meant to her.
“I always have felt a lot more like I can do anything after this. Having done this for two years, it’s definitely given me a lot of confidence, and it’s also just improved my skills as a leader,” she said.
Next year when she becomes a student at MSU, she plans to join the Maverick Machine, under the direction of Michael Thursby, and put her experience to work in wind ensemble and “all the music events that you can be in.”