Thank you for registering to join us for DGN Alumni Band 2019! We are really looking forward to welcoming you back to campus on October 4. We have 50+ alumni signed up, and it's going to be a great night.
The Village of Downers Grove changed our parade route last year, and it no longer takes place on Main Street. Instead, the parade goes through the neighborhood to the west of Main Street. I am aware that in years past Alumni Band members were invited to march with the current band in the parade. In truth, we have never had a large enough group of alumni present to make this arrangement work well. Because we are on a new route, we are asking alumni to NOT march with the current band members, and enjoy the parade as a spectator. We will look forward to having you join us later in the evening!
Please arrive between 4:30 and 4:45, and check-in at our registration table in the Main Street Lobby. Please park in the Main Street Parking Lot and enter through the Main Street Entrance. This entrance is for Alumni Band participants only. Your admission to the game is complimentary as an Alumni Band member. Additional friends and family members must use the public admission gates to the stadium and must pay to attend the game.
If you pre-ordered a t-shirt, please have $15 (T-shirt) or $30 (Sweatshirt) in exact change, or a personal check (payable to DGN Bands). We will not be set up to accept checks or credit cards. If you have arranged to use a North High instrument, you will pick it up at this time.
We will have sheet music for you when you arrive. If you are a wind player, and have a lyre and/or flip-folder, please bring it. We will have a few extra, but I cannot guarantee we will have exactly what everyone needs to carry music on their instrument. If you are a drummer, you'll either memorize the music in advance ... or you'll do what you've always done, and fake it. (Oooh, was that out loud?! I feel I can say this, as a fellow percussionist.)
Our rehearsal (5 - 5:30) will be on the grass field to the East of Carsten's Field. We will review music and receive instructions about our marching formations for Pregame and Halftime. The Trojan Marching Band will join us at 5:30, and we will continue the rehearsal until 6:15 PM.
Dinner Break
Once our rehearsal is over and the North High Band finishing their preparations, you will have an opportunity to visit with one another and get something to eat. The Trojan (Athletic) Boosters run a concession stand at Carstens Field that includes soft drinks, burgers, hot dogs and all sorts of other great football food!
Pre-Game Parade
Those alumni that would like to parade the track with us should be in the Field House no later than 6:50 PM.
I am excited for you to witness, first hand, the great work our 2019 Trojan Marching Band is doing this year. I'm sure you will recognize many things about the band that are similar to your days of performing. As Mr. Smith joined our team last year as the Head Marching Band Director, we asked our Drum Majors and Section Captains to create a list of "traditions" that were important to them. They came up with a list of 50+ traditions; even I - the old guy - was surprised at the depth of the list. We are honoring all of the strong traditions that are a part of that list, while at the same time giving our current band members - and staff - an opportunity to make their own imprint on the heart of the DGN Band family. We hope you will enjoy our new "Trojan Fanfare" that opens our Pregame performance. We debuted this piece in 2018, which honors our school through thematic references to both our DGN School Song and DGN Alma Mater. The students are also excited to share their "50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing" themed Halftime show with you; one thing you will notice immediately is that the students are memorizing their halftime music, including the Athena dance tune that changes with each performance. No more flip folders on the field during halftime for our current students, but you are certainly allowed and encouraged to use music for our performance at Homecoming.
Color Guard registrants should have already received (or will soon) an email from Crystal Zaragoza with video resources to help you learn the routines for Homecoming 2019.
During the Game
Only Alumni with an official DGN Alumni Band shirt will be allowed to perform on field or be in the designated seating on the track.
We ask that all Alumni be seated in the Alumni Band section on the track, and do not move into the stands to sit/play with the DGN Band. I know that if you are a recent grad, it's tempting to relive the "glory days" in the stands with the current Trojan Marching Band. But the truth is that we just don't have room to accommodate alumni in the band-box. Thank you for your cooperation.
Post Game
For those of you who choose to stay through the end of the football game, I hope you will join us on the track for the traditional playing of the Alma Mater and the "We Love Our Team" cheer. Once we parade back to the Field House we will sing the Alma Mater once more as a band, and I hope you will be a part of that moment, too. In 2018 we started a DGN Alumni Band "tradition", and it is to invite the Alumni Drum Major(s) with the most "seniority" to conduct the band in the singing of the Alma Mater at the Field House ramp. That Drum Major (or Drum Majors) may either accept the invitation, or choose to offer the honor to another Alumni Drum Major in attendance. For 2019, our most-senior Alumni Band Drum Major is Sara Grant, Class of 1996.
I have reserved a section of sofas and small tables at "Another Round," in downtown Downers Grove, to gather after the game. This restaurant & bar can accommodate our alumni base that includes former students both over, and under, the age of 21. They are expecting DGN Band Alumni to begin arriving as early as 9:30 PM. As you arrive, please let the management know you are with the DGN BandAlumni group, and they will point out the designated area. Food and drink orders are the responsibility of individuals. Our DGN Band Staff will join you to say hello and visit for a bit, but we will likely not arrive until 10:30 or 11 PM, after we yell "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!" several times, and then get the building locked-down.
Travel safely, and Eyes With Pride,
BT
