Welcome home!! We are truly delighted that you have decided to join us for Homecoming and our “DGN Alumni Band 2021.” We are thrilled at the response, and you will be energized by the opportunity to play alongside fellow alumni covering the past several decades. It should be a fun evening; we’ll knock the dust off the horns (and our bodies!) and show those current band students how “we did it back in the day!”
Check In
Please plan to check-in at our registration table, set up in the Main St. Lobby, between 4:30 and 5:00 PM. After checking-in, we invite you to visit the new Learning Commons space to see for yourself the beautiful renovation that has been recently completed.
Music
When you arrive on campus, we will provide you with the copies of music you need. Including:
DGN School Song (pregame)
Star Spangled Banner (pregame)
I’m Still Standing (halftime)
Upon check-in, music will be distributed in cardboard folders (not flip folders). You will clip the music to your instrument with lyres that (hopefully) YOU PROVIDE. We will have an assortment of “lost and found” extra lyres, but no promises. Please try to bring one with you!
If you ordered a t-shirt ($15) or sweatshirt ($30), it will be available to you at Registration. Please come prepared to hand us cash, or a check made payable to DGN BANDS. We are not able to accept electronic payment. If you registered after September 24 (our shirt order deadline) and requested a shirt, we are unable to guarantee one for you. Please wear a grey shirt or sweatshirt, or DGN spirit-wear.
Rehearsal Our rehearsal (5:30 - 6 PM) will be on the grass field to the East of Carsten's Field. Please aim to be on the East field by 5:20 PM so we can say hello and give you any last-minute updates. As we begin our rehearsal with the Trojan Marching Band we will review music and share instructions about our marching formations for Pregame and Halftime.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
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 PM this year (30 minutes earlier than previous years). Those alumni that would like to parade the track with us should be in the Field House no later than 6:20 PM. You may also want to sneak in a little early to hear the “hype circle” traditions.
Performance Notes
We are excited for you to witness first hand the great work our 2021 Trojan Marching Band is doing this year. We’re sure you will recognize many things about the band that are similar to your days of performing. This year, we asked our Drum Majors and Section Leaders to create a list of "traditions'' that were important to them, and the list numbered 50+! This year provided us with the unique opportunity to reestablish and reaffirm those traditions we hold so dear. At the same time, this year was a great opportunity to give our current band members - and staff - an opportunity to make their own imprint on the heart of the DGN Band family.
The students are also excited to share their 2021 production, Les Miserables, with all of you! The students have been working hard to build this show into something special. With a whole set of underclassmen brand new to the activity, it’s been an “all hands on deck” kind of experience to get everyone on the same page. Their work has been incredible, and the show we have put together is very moving. We hope you’ll be as proud of them as we are!
During the Game
Alumni will be invited to join the ranks of the Trojan Marching Band in our brand new stadium stands! Many of you will remember the days of uncentered press boxes, and cramped seating. Those days are long gone! Additionally, you’ll notice that the band has moved to the North side rather than the South side of the stadium.
Wind players - you will be allowed to join your fellow section-mates in the stands. Drumline members - you will be joining our current percussionists on the track. Do you remember any of those old stand tunes? Now’s your chance to play them loud and proud! (Don’t worry - we’re sure our current student will help you out if you get lost!)
At the end of halftime, our drumline will perform for the Student Section. Because music and sequences change year-to-year, we ask Alumni percussionists not to perform in this segment.
Post Game
For those of you who choose to stay through the end of the football game, we 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 we 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 2021, our most-senior Alumni Band Drum Major is Michael Musselman, Class of 2004! (Fun facts: Michael is married to Class of 2005 Alumni Drum Major, Sydney (Nogle) Musselman. His sister, Kathy Musselman (Flute, Class of 2002) will also be joining us in Alumni Band, and her son is a current member of the Trojan Marching Band Percussion section.)
Post-Post-Game
We 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.
Again, thank you for being with us, and for being such an important part of the legacy and tradition of our Downers Grove (North) High School Bands. This year especially, we find ourselves ever so grateful for the opportunity to come together and make music again. We’re so excited to have you back and we can’t wait to see you and hear about all of your post-grad adventures!
Staff Updates
Most of you already know us, as well as our Color Guard Director Ms. Crystal Zaragoza, Percussion Director Ms. Peggy Sue Casey, and Drill Technician Mr. Liam Jackson. Joining our team this year for the first time is newly appointed District 99 Orchestra Director Ms. Amanda Zall. Ms. Zall, who hails from Boston, Massachusetts, studied Music Education and Cello at Syracuse University. Additionally, she is a trombonist, and was the Drum Major of the Syracuse University Marching Band. You can learn a little bit more about Ms. Zall, HERE!
Eyes with Pride,
Jessen T. Smith - Fine Arts Faculty & Head Marching Band Director
Brayer Teague - Fine Arts Department Chairperson