Pep band ready to rock the weekend roof off George Houston Gymnasium
- Klas Stolpe
- 41 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Band seniors Morgan, Rivera, Newell, Barr, Huff, Powers, Urrutia-Lugo, Doten-Ferguson, Zamora to be honored
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé pep band, under the direction of Brian Van Kirk, will honor their senior members — and the school’s spirit — during this weekend’s home basketball series against the visiting Tri-Valley Warriors at the George Houston Gymnasium.
“I have been in pep band for all four years,” senior Cayman Huff said. He plays clarinet and trumpet and is a student band director. “Pep band has meant everything to me. Especially this year getting to lead a group, getting to have that experience conducting or arranging or whatever it is. Getting these are friendships and connections that really last a lifetime has just been an awesome experience…I think the hardest part is the logistics of when to play and when not to play, and what vibes of songs to play at certain moments, and just feeling the room in the gym, and, yeah, really just song selection and what goes into that, all the logistics.”
Friday and Saturday varsity game times are 5 p.m. for girls and 7 p.m. for boys. The pep band seniors will be honored on Saturday along with the basketball seniors between the two varsity games. Cheer and Dance seniors will be honored between Friday’s varsity games.
According to band members, "Zoot Suit Riot" is their favorite piece.
“It is very energetic,” Huff said.
“And it has really cool trombone parts which I feel like you don’t really get to hear a lot of, or as much,” senior Kelsie Powers said. “And being able to hear the trombones is a really cool part especially because it is like a pretty main line throughout the entirety of the piece.”
Powers is another four-year pep band member.
“I have played sax all four years through pep band and I would say that some of the most amazing friendships come from PEP, and they are going to be memories that I will have for the rest of my life from these four years doing this program with them,” Powers said. “I have been able to see where my faults are as a person, and been able to grow and change from those, and just be able to work with all different types of people as well. No person is the same and being able to learn how to work with all those different types of people, getting to know everyone, has been really amazing.”
The JDHS pep band members are seniors Huff, Powers, Brynna Morgan, Sarah Rivera, Emerson Newell, Rowen Barr, Lorelei Urrutia-Lugo, Aaron Doten-Ferguson and Leslie Zamora; juniors Ellie Wall, Atagan Hood, Damian Scroggins, Elan Chappellm Sam Uyanikm, Noah Coleman, Mark Guimmayen, Stella Asplund, Forster Ruston, Kaylana Abbott, Ethan Van Kirk and Dan Degener; sophomores Jamie Wisner, Lucas Radar, Alexander Tripp, Mikey Patterson, Hugo Rank, Dawn Pecson, Trey Powers, Paul Conrad, Morgan Wright and Kaylee Frickey; and freshmen Hendrik Van Kirk, Lucy Wall, Henry Thatcher, Bailey Israelson, Grace Padron and Fiona McFarlin.
“I play drums, percussion, things like that, I like the rhythm in pep band,” JDHS senior Rowan Barr said. “It always seemed like when I first came here, I did not really get along with some of the captains, so I didn't really join for my first couple years at JD. Now it is my senior year and I am really enjoying it. One of my really good friends, Cayman, is like the main captain now, and it has really made my senior a lot better. Pep band shaped me in a way that I didn't think it would and it is just super fun to look forward to and to play at games. I mean, you can't really beat it.”
Pep band senior Aaron Doten-Ferguson said, “I have played the trumpet for pep band for all four years of high school. Pep band was always fun for me because it was so vibrant and it had so much energy and it was super fun to play games and to watch all of the basketball players do well…I would say I have grown as a student through pep band because I made a ton of connections and really good friends that I am really happy that I have made.”
Senior Leslie Zamora is in her third year as a JDHS pep band saxophone player.
“I really enjoy pep band because it helps bring people together,” Zamora said. “Music is something that is loved by a lot of people, and pep band is just a great chance to share that music with others, and it also just brings so many people together. I have made most of my closest friends through Pep Band, even out of town, and it is just a really good way to share different things with people and express yourself.”
The band’s notoriety is widespread among their peers and beyond.
“I get teachers that come up to me all throughout school, the whole day, saying they are looking forward to us playing,” Huff said.
Added Powers, “Yeah, they say that without us it is not the same, that we bring a lot of enthusiasm and that sort of thing to the games and without us, it is kind of just like really, really quiet. Yeah, we have our cheerleaders, but they can only be so loud while a band is able to be a lot louder than them...But we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the cheerleaders, they are an integral part of our playing.”
The pep band will also be tying together the Region V 2A/3A4A basketball championships March 4-7 in the George Houston Gymnasium with many of their musician friends from Southeast schools attending. The JDHS band will also have a concert at 6 p.m. March 11 in the JDHS auditorium. This is following the March 9 JDHS Choir Concert (7 p.m.) and March 10 JDHS Orchestra Concert (7 p.m.)
“Pep is all about the energy,” JDHS pep band director Brian Van Kirk said. “And creating an atmosphere that Region V is known for.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
