More than 270 high schoolers march musically behind the banners of Lions and Firebirds, their collective commitment stretching far beyond belting out a few tunes to fill the halftimes of football games.

Try practicing their chosen songs and steps for four and a half hours in class each week.

And rehearsing those same songs and steps for two hours each Tuesday night, and then, for many of them, again each Thursday night.

All after learning and relearning and reaffirming the same songs and steps during a two-week camp during the heat of summer: a few hours each morning, then up to two hours each afternoon.

Listening. Learning.

Living.

“Honestly, I think the majority of the people who watch us, they have no idea how much time it takes and how much time and effort we put into putting a show together,” says Rachel Heeb, a senior and head drum major for the Marching Firebirds at Free State High School. “Memorizing the music. Memorizing the steps. The steps going from one set to another. All the transitions. All the horn movements. All the extra effects that go into the show. …”

She pauses for a breath, although, as an accomplished clarinet player, she certainly doesn’t need to.

“Sure, it all looks cool and sounds cool and all that,” she says, “but if they knew all the time and effort we put into it, they’d appreciate it even more.”

Friendly competition

This weekend offered a chance for friends, family and other supporters to absorb performances from both Free State and Lawrence High School alike, when their respective bands performed during the Heart of America Marching Festival at Memorial Stadium: Free State just two hours before its Homecoming Dance across town, and Lawrence High soon following.

“Both programs are excellent,” says Kelsey Schweer, a senior and head drum major for the LHS Marching Lions.

Such communal support is common among the band programs. Perhaps it’s because the 133 Marching Firebirds and the 140 Marching Lions know just how much it takes to both prepare and perform in front of hundreds of people.

Especially when no single player — from the drum lines to the horns to the color guards to the drum majors — can hide.

“It’s an activity where everybody participates,” says Schweer, who also plays clarinet. “That sets it apart from other sports, where there are people who are benched. They don’t have the opportunity to get out there.

“Here, everybody has the opportunity to get out there. And that’s the great thing: Everybody gets an opportunity to succeed.”

Freshmen to march?

Whether the bands will extend their memberships next year to everyone in school — remember, ninth-graders will attend high schools as part of the Lawrence school district’s reconfiguration plan — remains an open question.

By the end of the month, the district’s music educators plan to come up with a recommendation for district administrators. Among the goals being balanced will be to provide opportunities for all students, offer age-appropriate instruction and operate within limited financial resources.

Randy Fillmore, director of bands at Free State, knows the value of the summer band camp for his newest players: Seniors get a chance to share their experiences and skills with sophomores, who in turn embrace a well-earned dose of camaraderie by the time classes begin.

“Those sophomores, they have 80 upperclassmen as friends the moment they set foot in the door,” Fillmore says.

Extending that feeling for freshmen wouldn’t be easy. Fillmore estimates the cost of each new Free State uniform at $450, and Tom Hunt — assistant director at Lawrence High — figures the Lions alone likely would need another 60 to 80 red-and-black outfits to bring freshmen into their marching pride.

“That’s the first financial obstruction,” Hunt says. “It’s huge.”

But that’s a decision for next year. For now, Schweer and Heeb are busy doing their best, leading their bands into parades, fields and competitions.

They do so knowing that the benefits of their efforts will continue to ring true, both for themselves and others who march in step with the music.

“It’s boosted my confidence, in everything I do,” Schweer says. “It’s made me realize I can improve my talents in everything else I do.”

Adds Heeb, who is mulling whether to follow her parents and join Marching Jayhawks at Kansas University: “It all pays off in the end. The end product — the competitions against other bands, the first-place awards or putting forth your best efforts — you’re happy with the final product.”