The Seward High marching band will present an intense show for its 2026 marching season.
“Shadows and Light” was composed by Steve Martin with percussion by Aaron Hines and Jon Brill.
The three-part show doesn’t have breaks between the parts, Director Amanda Kenney said.
“Opening with mysterious anticipation from our front line, the first section, Illumination, introduces the main theme, full of brightness and light,” she said. “The ballad, Eclipse, features a trio of two trumpets (Sam Kenney and Carly Kolterman) and a mellophone (Rebekah Jurchen). Finally, Darkness descends as we feature the percussion section, both the battery on the field and front line, before returning to the opening theme to close the show.”
Kenney said the band has great assistants and student section leaders.
Dr. Jessica Schreiner, the SMS band director, is the assistant director. Mace Fowler, a student from UNL, is the percussion tech. Nicole Kenney, an SHS alum and student at Doane, is the color guard instructor. Student teacher Shasta Tonniges from Concordia is also helping this quarter.
Drum majors Kris Anderson, Jaxson Foust and Adison Langan are excited to present the show. All three are seniors and are first-year drum majors.
They attended a camp at the University of Nebraska at Kearney to learn more about being drum majors.
“The show is intense,” Anderson said. “It’s like a battle.”
Illumination starts with an ominous feeling in the front line, Anderson said. Eclipse starts in the light, while Darkness feels like shadows.
Part 1 starts out mysterious, Foust said, and evolves to light. Part two feels powerful.
“It feels like watching an eclipse,” Foust said.
Part three brings in the basses with a heartbeat and feels angry and dark.
“It gives me chills. It’s like directing an army in battle,” Foust said.
The end returns to the calm light, he said. His favorite part is three which is written in 12/8 time.
“It’s slow and angry,” he said.
Langan described the show as brass heavy and powerful. She likes directing, but she said she misses playing.
Because there are no breaks between the pieces, the drum majors don’t switch podiums, Langan said.
Her favorite part of the show is the start of part three after the percussion break.
“It’s a dramatic part when the winds come in,” she said.
Anderson said one challenge for the band is keeping its time during the percussion breaks.
“It’s harder to keep the beat,” Anderson said.
Foust’s main challenge is more personal – he’s not a fan of heights so doesn’t like being on the director stand. However, he said, it’s worth it.
“It’s fun to hear everything happening. I can hear the flutes now,” he said.
Being a drum major means having to listen to everything, which can be tricky, Langan said.
“It’s cool to listen to all the brass parts,” she said.
Foust encouraged fans to watch the band’s blocks moving in part one, where each is doing its own thing. He likes the diagonal movement in part three, as well.
Langan recommended listening for the tempo change at the end of the second part with its related formations.
Anderson, a trumpet player, said being a drum major was something he wanted to do. He tried out since his freshman year and was selected in 2026.
“The parts are cool to play, but it’s been my dream to direct,” he said.
He likes the big hit points and where the band performs step outs, he said.
Foust, a trombone player, joined the band because his dad played when he was in school. Initially, he said, his plan was to be a music teacher.
Being a drum major has allowed him to better understand how the other parts in the band work.
Langan, who plays clarinet, said she has loved being on the band’s leadership team. She said marching on turf is easier than marching on natural grass.
Having been in band for four years, Langan said this show is one of her favorites.
“It’s a really cool show,” she said.
Student leaders
The student leadership team includes drum majors Kristopher Anderson, Jaxson Foust, and Adi Langan, captains Rebekah Jurchen and Sam Kenney, and section leaders Emerson Rucker and Kassy Tieken (flutes), Lydia Jurchen and Addisyn Venekamp (clarinets), Gabe Pomajzl and Logan Rising (alto saxes), Ella Gabriel (tenor saxes), Liam Heyen (lows), Christie Brecka and Carly Kolterman (trumpets), Adam Rickert (trombones), Lucy Huntington (baritones), Will Mueller and David Sierra (battery percussion), Emmy Janda (front line), and Tomi-Ann Hedges (color guard).
