April 23, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Get to know to know SJO Senior Marching Band member Maya Hewkin

My favorite thing about marching band is the connection between the students. Being in band is like being a part of a huge family, and I’ve met all of my best friends from being involved in marching band

My favorite memory from marching band was a competition last year where we won every award for our class. I forget which competition it was exactly, but we received the awards for best winds, best percussion, best color guard, and first place for our class.

My favorite piece to perform was last year’s marching show, “Captiv.” The music wasn’t necessarily better than any other I’ve performed, but last year’s show was the first one where I got the chance to march the bass clarinet. The music felt special to me because it was very different from what I had played before.

Last year’s show had my favorite costume. I liked the way that it looked more than other costumes, but it also felt like the most practical in a way. The costume wasn’t very hot, so there weren’t many issues with people overheating in costume, but it was very easy to layer under it and stay warm during cold performances.

The biggest misconception people have about marching band is that it isn’t very physically taxing. It’s hard carrying an instrument around! Especially for people like me who play big instruments, being able to march in time, while carrying an unwieldy instrument, and also having enough breath support to sound good is physically very difficult.

in Life, People
Banner
Related Posts

10 things you don’t know about me… Cliff Hastings

October 14, 2022

October 14, 2022

We asked the owner of Prime Time Volleyball and the Parkland Head Volleyball Coach to tell us 10 interesting facts...

How do I help my kids try new foods?

October 19, 2021

October 19, 2021

By: Dr. Jeanelle Murphy, DO Thanks to Christie Clinic for sponsoring this content. Encouraging young kids to try new foods...

Local meteorologist’s love of weather started as a child

February 7, 2019

February 7, 2019

While the Internet may have people believing anyone with a computer can predict the weather, the former Director of the...

‘He was the kind of person everyone was happy to see’

July 19, 2025

July 19, 2025

Sam Shonkwiler was full of life. He would walk in a room and people would call his name. He had...

10 things you don’t know about me… Cindy Berry-Rajlich

September 11, 2019

September 11, 2019

Every week we ask an area resident to give us 10 facts about themselves. This week we talked to Cindy...

Senior spotlight: Kassie Kelso

May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

Leading up to graduation, we asked five seniors five questions. Here are Kassie Kelso’s answers. What will you be doing...

10 things you don’t know about me…Leonard Winchester

July 15, 2020

July 15, 2020

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? I don’t have one favorite childhood memory, there were so many experiences. I...

Senior Spotlight… Anna Wentzloff

January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

What are your plans after graduation?My plan after graduation is to attend college to become a Child Life Specialist concentrating...

St. Joseph PTC sponsoring school supply drive

July 9, 2019

July 9, 2019

Katie May doesn’t want any child in St. Joseph to start the school year without the supplies they need. The...

Get to know Senior SJO Marching Band member Bryce Collins

October 21, 2022

October 21, 2022

The community surrounding Marching Band is filled with some of the most talented, passionate, and downright amazing people I’ve ever...

Benefit to be held for Fisher family

March 18, 2019

March 18, 2019

Next Saturday the St. Joseph IGA and Wagner Signs and Graphics are coming together for a good cause. From 7...

Kids say….

August 1, 2019

August 1, 2019

Students from PVO South tell us if they would like to be a farmer. This post is sponsored by Longview...

Ask the Doctor with Dr. Jeanelle Murphy

April 6, 2020

April 6, 2020

How much screen time should my child have? What are the pros and cons for letting a toddler or grade...

Employees help co-worker during time of need

February 8, 2021

February 8, 2021

The staff at the St. Joseph Subway wanted to help April Patton. Manager Adam Porter said his co-worker said she...

‘Wanting to serve this community has been my passion’

December 7, 2020

December 7, 2020

Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges cares about St. Joseph. It is why she is running for reelection tonight at the Republican Caucus....

Comments
Leave a Reply