E.H.S. Marching Band Historical Profile
For many years the Eureka High School Marching Band was recognized as an outstanding parade and field band, particularly in the 1960's and 1970's under notable directors Bob Allan and George W. York. When Kevin Jensen took over the program in 1981, he began the difficult transition from a primarily parade-oriented band to a more modern corps-style marching band, and Eureka has never looked back (footnote: current Director of Bands Todd Stalter was a sophomore trumpet player in that band!). When Tony Corpus took over the program in 1987, the band embarked on a steady period of improvement in both marching and visual presentation. In 1991, Mr. Todd Stalter began his tenure as Director of Bands and, as is outlined below, has guided the students at EHS to continued success and even greater heights as a competitive marching band. In 2002, Ms. Denise Yonker joined our staff as Assistant Director of Bands, and has helped tremendously in the growth, teaching, and presentation of the marching program.
Each year that goes by provides special memories of great shows and wonderful performances. Here is a quick glance at the recent history of the marching band including the major awards of each season, with some interesting memories thrown in for all of you alumni out there!
1991 - "Russian Spectacular" (Music: Polovetsian Dances, Miniature March, Finale to Tchaikovsky Symphony #2) Drum Majors: Jodi Hohulin, Emily Grisham. Awards: Best Winds, Olympia Invitational (Remember the rain and lightning at Homecoming?)
1992 - "Beaches" (Music: Friendship Theme, I've Still Got My Health, I Think It's Going to Rain Today, Boardwalk, Wind Beneath My Wings) Drum Majors: Clayton Spires, Margaret Zumstein, Emily Grisham. Awards: Grand Champion, Best Drum Major, Best Color Guard, Small Division, WIU Invitational (Cool party on the football field in the dark after the WIU show!)
1993 - "Cool Jazz" (Music: Scream, Sierra Sister, Harlem Nocturne, Moonglow) Drum Majors: Marissa McClure, Kelly Kinder, Jenny Roseman. Awards: 2nd Place & Best Percussion, ISU State Championships (Remember the rain at Band Camp, and then the rest of the season? It was hard to call us a "marching" band instead of a "stand still and play in a gym" band!)
1994 - "James Bond" (Music: James Bond Theme, You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only) Drum Majors: Jenny Roseman, Sonia Graber, Cheryl Stoller. Awards: 1st Place, Class AA, Olympia; 2nd Place, Class 2A, ISU State Championships (The picture of Cheryl in her sunglasses at Band Camp still hangs in my office as the best example of "The Drum Major Stare")
1995 - "The Music of George Gershwin" (Music: I Got Rhythm, Summertime, Cuban Overture/I Got Plenty of Nuthin', An American in Paris) Drum Majors: Sonia Graber, Hayley Roseman, Deana Babb. Awards: 1st Place, Class AA, Metamora Invitational; 3rd Place, Class 2A, ISU State Championships (From a rocky start to the winner's circle...ah, victory, how sweet it is!)
1996 - "British Invasion" (Music: Crown Imperial, Gaelic Suite, Mars/Jupiter) Drum Majors: Hayley Roseman, Sarah Ragains, Steve Delicath. Awards: All captions and overall drum trophy, 1st Place, Class AA, Washington Invitational; 1st Place, Metamora Invitational; 1st Place, Class AA, Olympia Invitational; 3rd Place and Crowd Pleaser, Class 2-A, ISU State Championships (First year for multiple class wins)
1997 - "The Music of John Williams" (Music: Fanfare from E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Liberty Fanfare/March from 1941, Adventures on Earth) Drum Majors: Sarah Ragains, Sue-Ann Rapp, Christine Moretz. Awards: Grand Champion, Washington Invitational; 1st Place, Class AA, Olympia Invitational; Class Champion in Parade and Field, Best Drum Major and Color Guard, Liberty Bowl Music Festival (We went to Memphis to be warm, remember?...whoops! Cool parade, and fun hotel stories...remember the pizza party?)
1998 - "The Music of Beethoven" (Music: Beethoven's Fifth, Fur Elise, Scherzo from the Ninth Symphony, Pathetique Sonata, Ode to Joy) Drum Majors: Anne Albrecht, Lillia McClure, Sarah Arvin. Awards: 1st Place Parade and Field, Metamora Invitational; Grand Champion, Olympia Invitational (Remember the "Power of the Green Dot" at Oly? That was an awesome performance!)
1999 - (No Show Title...just fun stuff!) (Music: How the West Was Won, Moonglow, Malaguena) Drum Majors: Lillia McClure, Sarah Arvin, Jessica Bevill Awards: Grand Champion of the Olympia and Washington Invitationals, 3rd Place in Class B at U of I (First year of multiple grand championships, and an amazing feat at U of I...NOBODY goes in the first year and places, but we did!)
2000 - "Star Trek" (Music: Star Trek Generations, One Last Visit, Star Trek Voyager, Next Generation Theme) Drum Majors: Jessica Bevill, Leah Yoder, Janice Ruder. Awards: Class 1-A State Champions, ISU, 12th Place, Finals; 2nd Place and Best Drum Majors in Class B, U of I (Our first state championship, and what a feeling!)
2001 - "Pictures at an Exhibition" (Music: Promenade, The Old Castle, The Hut on Fowl's Legs, Great Gate of Kiev) Drum Majors: Leah Yoder, Janice Ruder, Laura Schwind. Awards: Class 1-A State Champions, ISU, 13th Place, Finals; 3rd Place, U of I (Ah, the rain at U of I...who knew that it would be foreshadowing for 2002?)
2002 - "Music from Fantasia" (Music: Beethoven's Fifth, Toccata and Fugue, Firebird Prelude, The Firebird) Drum Majors: Laura Schwind, Brittany Parks, Meagan Scheid. Awards: Class 1-A State Champions and all caption awards, ISU, 13th Place in Finals; SBC/Cotton Bowl Marching Festival Grand Champions along with top Color Guard and Percussion honors; Cotton Bowl Parade Class Champions (Ms. Yonker joins our program, and what a great trip to Dallas...fun, tornadoes, food, RAIN, RAIN, RAIN!!!)
2003 - "Stargate" (Music composed by David Arnold: Stargate Overture, Giza 1928/Slave Rebellion, Caravan to Nagada, Battle at the Pyramid, Epilogue) Drum Majors: Laura Schwind, Brittany Parks, Meagan Scheid. Awards: Class 1-A State Champions and all caption awards, ISU, 13th Place in Finals (NOBODY will forget the Finals performance you all gave, and the intense emotion of it all...one of the great and unique moments in Eureka band history)
2004 - "Pirates of the Caribbean" (Music: Fog Bound, The Medallion Calls, The Black Pearl, Blood Ritual, To The Pirate's Cave!, One Last Shot, He's a Pirate) Drum Majors: Anna Yoder, Bethany Jones, Claire Scott-Camp. Awards: Class 1-A State Champions and Best Winds, General Effect, Auxiliary, and Crowd Appeal at ISU, 13th place in Finals; Grand Champion of Olympia Invitational; 1st place in Field and Parade at Washington; tie for 3rd place in Class B at U of I (What a performance at ISU...40 degree weather, 30 mph winds..."Your greatest accomplishment will come from your greatest challenge.")
2005 - Music from "World of Warcraft" (Music: Warcraft Opener, Legacy, Echoes of the Past, A Call to Arms/Warcraft Finale) Drum Majors: Claire Scott-Camp, Laura Wirtz, Natalie Martz. Awards: 1st place in class, Best Winds, Best Color Guard, Danville Viking Invitational; 3rd in Parade, 2nd in Field, Best Drum Major, Washington Panther Invitational; 2nd place in Parade, 5th in Field, Metamora Invitational; Class 1-A State Champions and Best Winds, General Effect, Auxiliary, and Crowd Appeal at ISU, 11th place in Finals; 5th place in Class B and 2nd place Drum Majors, University of Illinois Marching Festival; 2nd in Parade, 2nd in Field, overall percussion trophy and Grand Champion of Olympia Invitational.
2006 - Music from "Gladiator" (Music: Gladiator Part 1, Interlude/Gladiator Part 2, Gladiator Finale) Drum Majors: Laura Wirtz, Natalie Martz, Abby Hartman. Awards: 2nd place in class, Best Auxiliary, Danville Viking Invitational; 3rd in Parade, 1st in Field, Best Drum Major in Field, Best Auxiliary in Field, Washington Panther Invitational; Class 1-A State Champions and Best Winds, General Effect, and Auxiliary.
2007 - "Revolutionary Scenes: The Music of Igor Stravinsky" Drum Majors: Abby Hartman, Katy Crenshaw, Katelynn Clement. Awards: 3rd Place in class, Morton Pumpkin Invitational: 1st Place in class, Olympia Spartan Invitational; 2nd place in class, Washington Panther Invitational; 4th place in class, State of Illinois Invitatinoal Marching Band Championship.
2008 - "Red Shift" Music composed by Todd Stalter ("Purple," "Blue," "Red") Drum Majors: Katy Crenshaw, Erin Kennell, Emily Rhoades. Awards: 1st Place in class, Best Winds, Best Auxiliary, Best Drum Major, Morton Pumpkin Invitational;