The Redhawk marching band is leaving The Nest on Tuesday to show off all they have learned and practiced at the Frisco ISD Marching Band Showcase at the Ford Center. 

“We’ve been working on [this show] since July 24 [which is when] we started the season,” band director Ana Hinojosa-Santi said. “So, we’ve just taken this time to develop the show. A lot of people forget that during the season, yes, we are there to promote and support our football team at every game, but we are also there to rehearse during halftime performance [for]…contest.”

This year’s showcase theme, Padma, holds a special meaning to Hinojosa-Santi, representing new beginnings and growth.

“We picked this show [because it] is me being new to this program,” Hinojosa-Santi said. “We’re trying to make it represent a lotus flower, and what a lotus flower does… [in] its journey to bloom and to this beautiful flower and it has to go through its murky waters.”

Students have been working on the band showcase for more than two months now and the work doesn’t stop on performance day.

“The Liberty Band has been hard at work since July 22nd…learning drill, learning music, and learning choreography,” Hinojosa-Santi said. “The day starts with normal school until 2:20 p.m.  The students will rehearse for about an hour then start the packing, eating, and loading process. We travel to the Star and begin our performance process!”

Sophomore Nash Pulley is excited about the showcase because it will serve as an opportunity to shine a light on the band and all of their preparation. 

“I’m excited for this year’s marching band showcase because, usually at football games, the focus is on the [football] team, but at [the showcase] it’s more on us, so we get to show what we learned these last couple of months and come together with other bands,” Pulley said.

But for sophomore Sameer Din, performing at showcases means a lot more pressure to be perfect than performing at games.

“Halftime shows are more chill than playing at actual competitions cuz no one is judging you,” Din said.

But in the eyes of Hinojosa-Santi, the most important part of the showcase is showing off students’ hard work and sharing it with the community.

“We do a spirit show for the beginning of the season, so this is the first time the audience will get to see our show,” Hinojosa-Santi said. “All we want is for the students to feel great after leaving the field.  We want to show off all our hard work!”

The showcase runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., with the Redhawk band performing at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are available at friscoisd.org.