QHS joins UW Huskies at Band Day
The Quincy High School band joined 31 other high school bands at Husky Band Day Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. The Jacks played the halftime show and were treated to a special performance by the UW band.
COURTESY PHOTO/DEVAN CHANDLER
Quincy High School band members Keegan Nelson, left, and Owen Yeates show their enthusiasm at Husky Band Day in Seattle Saturday.
QUINCY — Fifty members of the Quincy High School band had a chance to show their stuff Saturday at a University of Washington football game.
The occasion was Husky Band Day, when UW traditionally invites high school bands around the state to join the Husky band in playing the halftime show. This year, there were 32 bands including Quincy, said band teacher Devan Chandler. The Jacks band had to leave at 4 a.m. to get to the game on time, which Chandler said was a feat in itself.
“I was really impressed,” she said. “They did awesome as far as waking up and getting on the bus and then falling asleep. I was like, ‘Guys, I know you're teenagers and you sometimes feel invincible, but you need to sleep.’”
The band made it to the rehearsal at 7:30 p.m., which took place on the field with all the bands together, and then a sneak preview of the pregame show. That was followed by a special performance by the UW band accompanied by the cheerleading squad, and then the students headed off to their seats in the nosebleed section of the stadium for the actual pregame show.
“It was really fun and amazing to see how excited they were, or maybe even a little nervous from being up so high in the stadium,” Chandler said. “Then we went down and got ready for halftime, and we were on the field when the Huskies got two touchdowns right in front of us.”
The massed bands played four songs: “My Country, ’Tis of Thee;” “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi; “Light ’em Up” by Fallout Boy; and the Husky fight song, “Bow Down to Washington.”
“For many students, it was their first time in Seattle or at the stadium … first time close to a top division football team, first time to UW,” Chandler said. “So they were just soaking it all in, enjoying the amazing music from the Husky band.”
Washington won the game, which was against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 30-9.
“It was a wonderful experience to connect with their friends … and kind of blend the worlds of athletics and music, which I think is a very happy relationship,” Chandler said.
Quincy High School band members Keegan Nelson, left, and Owen Yeates show their enthusiasm at Husky Band Day in Seattle Saturday.