NORWICH – The Norwich High School Purple Tornado Field Band heads to Syracuse’s Carrier Dome this Sunday, but not before doing one last performance before local fans.
The band will perform its competitive field show, “Tales from the Pond,” at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Norwich YMCA. Admission to the event is free.
The students have been practicing at the Y all week in preparation for “the Dome,” which is the final New York State Field Band Conference competition of the season.
Spending the week before the competition at the community center has become a tradition for the band. And an important one at that. According to the band’s director, Lansing Dimon, it is necessary to have the indoor rehearsal time before heading to Syracuse.
“Marching in a domed environment, there is a lot of echo and reverb,” explained Dimon. This means a different listening experience for both the crowd and the performers.
“It’s definitely a learning experience,” said the director. It’s still an adjustment, he added, even for those students who have competed at the Dome before.
His goal for this week, Dimon said, was to keep intensity up and the rehearsals focused.
“We’re right where we need to be,” said Dimon. “Now it’s just a matter of fine tuning and trying to take it to the next level.”
The Purple Tornado Band has been thrilling audiences all season with the competitive show, which includes music from Cirque de Soleil. The performance, just over seven minutes in length, is an intricate choreography of music and movement.
The band started practicing the routine in July and, after months of hard work, their efforts are paying off. They have placed first in their division in each of the last three competitions they’ve entered, including last weekend’s Fall Festival of Bands in Norwich. They received the highest score of the season at the home show.
The Purple Tornado Marching Band is schedule to perform at 6:11 p.m. on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.