The RUHS Marching Band marches onto the football field under the darkening sky as the bleachers fill with spectators. Unlike other Fridays, the band is accompanied by younger students who are eager to play in front of this loud crowd. On Oct. 8, band students from the Parras, Adams, and Hermosa Valley middle schools played alongside the RUHS Marching Band during the Redondo vs. Culver City football game. 

This annual event, where middle schoolers get the opportunity to play songs with the RUHS marching band and watch them perform at their halftime show, was started to encourage middle schoolers, specifically eighth-graders, to join the band program. The invitation for the middle schoolers to play is, according to band director Raymundo Vizcarra, “important to keeping the Redondo band program alive” as it “exposes middle school band students to the high school’s band program.” 

“The [middle school] students need to know what the high school atmosphere is like. We want to make sure that the kids know what is available here at Redondo,”  Vizcarra said. “Since they’re coming to a football game, one of the most fun activities that we can have for the band, the middle school students can see what being in marching band is all about.”

  For eighth-grader Lily Olinger from Parras Middle School, this event encouraged her to potentially join the marching band next year. 

“When I had questions, they were able to help me. In middle school, I’m used to being the most advanced, but I feel like when I go to high school, there’ll be so much more to learn and that’s what I enjoy,” Olinger said. “I wasn’t sure [about joining high school band] up until we played with them. I’m now considering it since they sounded so cool and I think it would be a great opportunity.”

Delaney Vargas, a senior and Band Captain, finds that being with the middle schooler is “different” and is always enjoyable.

“It’s been really fun, [the middle schoolers] are always so energetic. Sometimes they’re even louder than the high schoolers. They love playing music,” Vargas said. “[They] bring a lot more excitement to the crowd, to the flock, and everyone in general.” 

Due to the benefits and “excitement” the event brings, the marching band hopes to continue the event and show the “fun” events that make marching band “special” so the program can keep thriving.

 “The students in the high school want our program to succeed and grow and they know that recruiting middle schoolers play an important role in that,” Vizcarra said. “It’s just always fun to be part of something bigger. Combine the three middle schools with the marching band, and it’s more exciting for all.”