As the high school marching band prepares for the upcoming football season, it has experienced some changes of its own.

“[My favorite new developments are] the new uniforms,” senior and drum major Weston Pollock said. “It’s the first time that we’ve ever had uniforms in our marching band and it really makes us a true marching band.”

The uniforms seem to be the center of attention amid the new developments.

“We got bigger, first of all. And we got uniforms. And then, um, let’s see. I think those are the biggest improvements that I would like to recognize,” junior and horn sergeant Kakeru Ogata said.

Other developments include new equipment, gilded instruments and a shed.

“[I like] the shed,” Ogata said, “because now people can’t just come in and randomly play the drums and stuff… we actually have a safe place for the drums.”

Band members are also enthusiastic about the excitement surrounding their growing program.

“[One great development is] how much more excited the band is about the whole program in general and how involved we are with the football players and the cheerleaders, so it’s kind of one big coordinated group,” senior and drum major Lily Apar said.

The band has seen its numbers grow in previous years and many believe that the trend will continue.

“I see us getting bigger, definitely. I kind of see us going towards like where Westlake is, like that kind of level, where we go to competitions and are well-known in the area,” Apar said.

Band director Zachary Borquez agreed.

“We have all the potential in the world,” Borquez said. “With the amount of students coming in from Medea, I see us having a population upwards of 100 students or more and becoming one of the bigger activities on campus like Cross Country or track.”

Borquez believes that, even with the recent success, this is only the beginning of the marching band’s legacy.

“I see us developing to at least [a level that is] on par with other schools,” Borquez said.“I couldn’t be happier with where we are and I’m continuing to feed the optimism that the sky’s the limit.”

The Westlake High School marching band currently serves as one of the main influences for Oak Park’s. Even though Westlake has almost four times the school population of Oak Park, and more resources available to the band program than Oak Park, the musicians here believe that Oak Park’s band program can still succeed.

“Even though we’re a smaller school, I think in that way we can have better quality if we focus in the right places,” Ogata said. “Key words: ‘focus in the right places.’”

Many band members agree that “focusing in the right places” takes time, effort and dedication.

“It requires a lot. Every member is as dedicated as the next,” Pollock said.

But Apar believes that it is all worth it.

“Dedication comes with it,” Apar said. “You don’t really have to try to be dedicated. Once you’re in, you’re in. It’s kind of addicting.”