Lakeside High School’s Band Program Begins a New Season of Music

To paraphrase Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Sound of Music, the hills of DeKalb County are alive with the sound of music. Nearly 100 Lakeside High School students have been hard at work preparing the halftime show for the upcoming football season. This year’s Viking Marching Band, which includes percussion, winds, brass, Guard and drum majors, will present We Are …. Students will perform a selection of pop and classical music including Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” and “Come Together” by the Beatles, as they execute precision choreography. The theme of the show is purposely open-ended and designed to emphasize unity, diversity and community.

“We Are … is an exciting and appropriate theme for both our school and community as a whole,” said Lakeside High School Director of Bands David Fairchild, PhD. “The meaning can be interpreted in so many ways, such as:

• We are Lakeside
• We are diverse
• We are community
• We are musicians
• We are stronger together

I hope our student musicians and the audiences who enjoy the performances will find their own unique meaning of We Are … that reflects their own lives and experiences.”

Lakeside High School’s award-winning Viking Marching Band and Concert Band have been making music and delighting audiences for over a half-century, and Fall 2019 is shaping up to be yet another successful season for the young musicians. In addition to entertaining the crowd at all Lakeside football games, the 90+-member Viking Marching Band is slated to perform and compete at a number of venues and special events over the next few months, including the annual Dragon Con Parade in downtown Atlanta Saturday, Aug. 31, at 10 a.m. and the Yellow Daisy Festival in Stone Mountain, Sept. 5.

“Lakeside’s Marching Band is the only high school marching band invited to participate in the Dragon Con Parade,” said Dr. Fairchild. “This is the largest parade in the city, enjoyed by tens of thousands of people both in person and via a live TV broadcast. We’re honored to be invited back for the fifth time to participate in this Atlanta tradition and we’re all looking forward to it. Fall is the busiest season for Marching Band due to all of the halftime performances at Lakeside football games for hundreds of people each week. The students work over the summer to learn the new music and marching patterns so that they are ready for the very first game. And, while this is an important and fun activity for the Band members, their overall music education and performance opportunities are much more extensive that what the fans see at halftime.”

Later in the fall, Band members will sell cheesecakes and holiday poinsettias to raise funds for Lakeside’s band program. Monies raised are used for a variety of needs including new instruments and instrument repair, guest conductors, competition fees, travel expenses and music costs, among other items. In the spring of 2020, members of Lakeside’s Band, Orchestra and Chorus will have the opportunity to travel together to Hawaii to perform at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

“DeKalb County is extremely fortunate that Lakeside High School offers an outstanding Band program under the direction of Dr. David Fairchild. Both Dr. Fairchild and Assistant Band Director Daniel MacNamara began their music careers when they were Lakeside students, so they feel a deep personal connection to the students, the program and the community,” said Michael Hoffer, president of the Lakeside Band Association. “In addition to the many awards and accolades the Band has won over the years, I think the strongest measure of its success is that most of Lakeside’s band students join the program as freshmen and stay involved until they graduate. Many go on to study and enjoy playing music in college and beyond. They form strong friendships, have fun and work as a team as they learn how to play one or more instruments.” www.lakesidevikingband.com, www.facebook.com/lakesidevikingband/