The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1022723
A-4 Local Wednesday, September 5, 2018 The Press-Dispatch Reception for State Candidates at 5 p.m. William Tanoos Congress 8th District John Hurley State Rep. Dist. #75 Joe Lannan State Rep. District #63 2018 Pike County Democratic Party SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Doors Open at 4:30 p.m. • Dinner at 6 p.m. Otwell Community Center – 2301 N. Spring Street, Otwell Sheriff Kent Johnson Recorder Lida Robinson Auditor Jodi Hoover Commissioner District $2 Heath Scraper County Council Darren Cook Jefferson Twp. Trustee Cindy Ridao Jefferson Twp. Advisory Board Chris Burkhart, Linda Teague, Jerry Traylor Lockhart Twp. Trustee Angela O'Neal Lockhart Twp. Advisory Board William Caldemeyer, Berniece Luker, Charles Mike Meyer Logan Twp. Trustee Shirley Shafer Marion Twp. Advisory Board Rick Bush, Greg Gray Monroe Twp. Trustee Sandy Barrett Monroe Twp. Advisory Board Elaine Barrett, Ivan Mason, Rita Williams Patoka Twp. Advisory Board Danny DeJarnett, Richard Tisdale Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Biesterveld Donations will be accepted Meet Your Local Candidates Tickets are $20 each For tickets, call 812-789-2349 Jefferson-Jackson DINNER Paid for by the Pike County Democratic Party MOOSE LODGE Dining Specials 5pm-8pm 115 Pike Ave., Petersburg OR ORDER FROM MENU FRIDAY 09-07-18 SATURDAY 09-08-18 NOW OFFERING PIZZA Open to Members and Qualified Guests Coffee or Tea with special. Wed., Fri. and Sat. • 5pm - 8pm Buffet with Salad Bar, Only $9.95. Roast Beef Manhattan with two sides, $6.50, Shrimp Basket with one piece of fish, $7.50. By Ed Cahill The Pike Central High School marching band – also known as the Charger Bri- gade – will participate in its first competition at Evans- ville Central on Saturday, Sept. 8. The 48 -member band, in- cluding color guard and per- cussionists, is under the di- rection of Chris Ashworth, who is beginning his fourth year as the high school band's director, after serv- ing seven years as band di- rector at Pike Central Mid- dle School. "We are actually smaller this year than we have been in years past," Ashworth said. "Every year, we go to Disney, the next year's al- ways smaller because ei- ther students graduate or they've done their trip and they want to pursue other things, which I understand." The Charger Brigade may be smaller in numbers this year, but Ashworth has big aspirations for the band. "Our music is significant- ly more difficult this year than it has been in years past, and our drill design is a lot more difficult," Ashworth said. "It makes a higher de- mand of the students. But they are doing a very good job of rising to that and com- pleting their tasks." "We've always had a cer- tain style," Ashworth added. "And this year, I thought, to be more competitive, we need to kind of adapt what we're doing. There are as- pects of our show that are easier but, at the same time, more difficult, just based on the demand of the music. I think that's going to put us at that next level this year." This year's show is titled "Journey to the Red Planet," which is based on a seven- movement orchestral suite, "The Planets," that was writ- ten by British composer Gustov Holst between 1914 and 1916. (Composer John Williams reportedly used "The Plan- ets" as inspiration for the musical score of the Star Wars films, including "The Imperial March.") The seven movements of Holst's suite are each named after a planet of the Solar System – Mars, Venus, Mer- cury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune – and its corre- sponding astrological char- acter. "Our focus is the portion of the suite called 'Mars,'" Ashworth said. "It's a very famous piece in the music world, so there's a lot of the motifs in that, that you can hear in our show." Mythologically, Ashworth noted, Mars is known as the "Bringer of War." "Well, we didn't want to display war on the field," Ashworth said. "So we have it more of an exploration – man's journey to outer space and, hopefully, getting to the Red Planet itself, getting to Mars." At the start of the show, ju- nior flute player Sarah Lane and senior clarinet player Meredith Benson perform solos, with Lane stationed behind a giant telescope at one end of the field and Ben- son standing atop a 12-foot mockup of Mars at the oth- er end. "At the very beginning, when the soloists are going, the rest of the students, they move onto the field to create this beam that connects the two," Ashworth said. "Then we keep going back and forth, getting closer to the planet, and throughout the show, the music is very rem- iniscent of that exploration feel, like, you're going into the unknown." "You have some fear in there, with some of our mu- sic," Ashworth continued. "Some of our music is very intense, very march-like, trying to get there." During the performance, Mars slowly begins moving, closer and closer to the giant telescope. "That whole concept tells a story, and that's what judg- es really are looking for – the effect of the music and the effect of the visual," Ash- worth said. "We do well with the music. We do well with the marching, the visual, in- dividual stuff. But it's our ef- fects scores that are typical- ly lower." Ashworth said that he challenged choreographer Ron Ryles – a Florida resi- dent who has written drill designs for drum corps across the country – to take the Charger Brigade's drill design "to the next level," despite having 12 first-year marchers. "He understood, so the drill is difficult on several levels, but it really fits our music and ties in our props and it ties in our color guard really well," Ashworth said. "It's been difficult but, at the same time, it's really easy to learn, because he broke down the drill for us to make it easy to learn." The Charger Brigade will have two drum majors this year – seniors Ashley Dul- worth and Maggie McDon- ald. "Ashley is doing our sec- ond movement and Maggie is doing our first and third movements," Ashworth said. "When Ashley is not on the podium conducting, we're kind of working out a way to incorporate her into the guard as maybe a soloist or just something so she has, quote, unquote, something to do, instead of just stand- ing on the sideline." Ashworth said that both Dulworth and McDonald participated in a drum major camp in July in Lebanon, Ill. "It was, like, a four-day camp, and they came back and were just ready to go at that point," Ashworth said. "They've really taken a lot of charge of getting the kids motivated and stretched out. Every time I need some- thing, they're willing to do it right then and there." A fter competing at Evans- ville Central on Saturday, Sept. 8, the Charger Brigade will compete at North Posey on Saturday, Sept. 15. A fter taking a week off, they will compete at Springs Valley on Saturday, Sept. 29. Then, on Saturday, Oct. 6, the Charger Brigade will compete in the Scholastic Class Prelims at Jasper. "The way the Indiana Charger Brigade will participate in first competition Saturday Pike Central High School senior clarinet player Meredith Benson performs a solo while standing on "Mars" during the Charger Brigade's performance of its show, "Journey to the Red Planet," during half- time of the Pike Central-Heritage Hills football game on Friday, Aug. 31. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior flute player Sarah Lane peers through a giant telescope during the Charger Brigade's performance of its show, "Journey to the Red Planet," during halftime of the Pike Central-Heritage Hills football game on Friday, Aug. 31. Ed Cahill photo See BRIGADE on page 6