Wayne State College’s large marching band, led by director Josh Calkin, is proud to represent the college at home sporting events and at various events throughout the school year.
One of the largest in the state, WSC’s marching band is comprised of 113 students representing around half of all majors available at WSC.
Calkin said that following WSC’s theme of acceptance, the marching band also encourages anyone who wants to join. There are no tryouts or requirements to join, other than wanting to.
“A desire to join the marching band, that’s it,” Calkin said. “We have students who have been doing marching band since they were in junior high, we have students who did marching band in high school a little bit, we have students who have never done band before.”
According to Calkin, the organization has similar goals each year, and that is to make the college proud and provide an inclusive environment for the students.
“To be good representatives for Wayne State, number one,” Calkin said. “When we’re out there and we’re in uniform and we’re performing, we want people to look at us and say Wayne State must be a really cool place to be because that band is really fun.”
Some other goals mentioned are supporting WSC’s athletic programs and giving members a sense of belonging. These goals remain the same each year and each year the marching band continues to achieve them.
The marching band will proudly represent the college at several events this year. The organization will play at every home football game during the season. Calkin also said that they try to take at least three trips per year. These trips vary from year to year, but mostly include high school visits, state marching contests, and even parades. A major event has already happened for the marching band as they got the opportunity to attend Volleyball Day.
“We went to Lincoln for Volleyball Day in Nebraska last week which was kind of an amazing event when you get right down to it,” Calkin said. “I know our kids were really pumped because they got to play in Memorial Stadium down in Lincoln, which they were really happy about.”
The marching band wouldn’t be complete without the color guard. They have had a long history with the military and color guards have remained an important aspect to marching bands.
“This year we have seven girls on the flag corps, and they buy in large kind of take care of themselves,” Calkin said. “They handle their own auditions, they write all their own routines as far as what they’re going to be doing with their equipment, and I make sure that they are incorporated into what we do on the field.”
One of the biggest organizations on campus, the WSC marching band continues to embody what the college is all about: inclusion and diversity. If one ever attends a home football game, they’ll be sure to take note of the marching band.
