The Don Lugo Marching Conquistadors knocked the socks off the crowd at last Friday’s football game when they performed their brand-new field show “Case Closed.” The ‘Marching Conquistadors,’ comprised of both the marching band and color guard, displayed bright colors and stirring music in their narration of “Case Closed” – a short story written by Don Lugo’s very own band director Mr. Stephen Yanik. Although the football team won that night, it is safe to say the Marching Conquistadors proved to be just as victorious with their stellar performance.

“Case Closed” tells the story of a small community who comes together to conquer their challenges and obtain a treasure. The story is meant to be symbolic of the marching band program at Don Lugo which has been significantly expanding in size and talent these past few years. Don Lugo student Gabi Viera was one of many to note the great improvement in the program as she praises the performance saying, “I was totally captivated by the show and the music. Sometimes it is difficult to focus on something when you are excited about your football team winning but the band really brought it home!”

Drum Major and senior at Don Lugo, Meranda Rouse, conducted the entire performance on Friday night. Rouse’s captivating role in leading the show added to the uniqueness and overall presence of the performance. However, according to Rouse, it took a lot to finally get to that point.

“Band is overlooked a lot of the time,” expressed Rouse. “We are here early in the morning before school starts and very late at night practicing and working hard to improve our technicality and performance.”Once again, hard work paid off for the marching band as “Case Closed” established the band program as a unique and important entity to the Don Lugo campus. Rouse and her peers hope their performances will create greater interest among students to join band, mentioning that being part of the band family is “definitely an experience worth trying at least once.”

The Marching Conquistadors’ next conquest will be at the annual Western Band Association competition in late November. The jazz band will also be performing in Reno, Nevada in the following months. The marching band’s representation at these competitions brings a great amount of pride to Don Lugo as the dedication given by these talented individuals shines through every performance.