At every football or basketball game you can hear them blasting from the bleachers and at every assembly you can expect to see their dances. Grizzly Pep band is a big part in bringing spirit to many school events and as school gets ready to cool down, they’re amping up one last time to perform on Friday at the crossover assembly and Little Cedars parade.
In all the excitement with this final pep performance of the year, there are some new beginnings as Louisa Davis helps conduct the band for the first time as a drum major. “I feel like it’ll be great, especially getting to conduct and actually being able to see the LCE kids since I’ll be in the front. It’ll be a new perspective from before of the parade. I love being drum major and I like band as a community. I really enjoy going to the events and I’m excited for next year,” Davis said.
By the time of this final assembly, seniors have already been graduated for several weeks meaning that crucial band members such as Jenae Watts, the former quartermaster, have passed down their roles. Cameron Hunt has inherited the part, along with Sofia Carmona going into her third year of leadership. “I’m really nervous, but I’m also excited at the same time because it’s like I can finally give back to the community of band, you know, because it’s always helped me through high school. I never had a leadership role like this before, so just going into it I just don’t wanna mess up, I guess, and accidentally be a bad example for those who need a good example,” Hunt said.
A long-time tradition of having Grizzly Band play at the Little Cedars parade can be even more enjoyed by many members of the band who have elementary school siblings. “It’s actually fun and me and Hayden have gotten closer as we’ve grown up so seeing her in the assembly and knowing she’s moving on to middle school is actually really heartwarming,” Elly Shreve said, “I moved up to the front and she saw me and screamed hi. [The band] gets a little crowded and I wish I had a better view because everybody blocks the band’s view but besides that it’s pretty fun and especially when we do the choreography to the cadences.”