Johanna Andronis

How long have you been playing guitar?

It'll be about three years now.

What made you want to join marching band?

I really enjoyed marching band in high school, and I had a lot of good friends because of it. I ended up doing the Crisler Concert with the MMB my senior year of high school, and thought it looked like fun, so I auditioned.

How would your U of M experience be different if you hadn't joined band?

I'd have more free time, especially on the weekends, but I wouldn't be as active, probably, and I wouldn't know as many people.

What has been your favorite experience so far?

Getting to know my section in general. They're a fun group, and we get along really well. We're planning on going to Northwestern for the football game, and it'll be a good time.

Describe a typical game day.

We get there about 5 hours before the kickoff, and we have an hour and a half practice, where we go over the music, run through parts of pregame, and run all of halftime. After that, we generally have a little more than an hour to do whatever we want. The euphonium section tailgates on Elbel, thanks to our parents. They bring food and drinks and we can sit around and chill. Then we go and get into our uniforms and have Ôvisualization,' where we sit in Revelli hall and as a group sing through pregame and halftime, thinking about what we're doing at that point in the music. All this is while the percussion do their step show. Then we go outside, line up in parade ranks, and march to the game. The reserve block goes into the stands, while the performance block stays behind in the tunnel for pregame. So we play at the game, both on the field and in the stands, and have an awesome time yelling. We sit with our sections, which means more time to hang out and get to know each other. We get water, and in the 3rd quarter, apples. After the game, we set up post game formation on the field, play through a few songs, usually Temptation and Warchant, and then reform the ranks and march back to Revelli. By the end you're completely wiped out, but it's a good time, and usually are ready to do something after a few hours of just sitting.

What is the best part about performing?

Finally being able to show 100,000 people what you've been working on for the past week or two. It's really nice to know that all the work we've done, like learning the drill, and memorizing the music, is appreciated by fans. What drives you to keep music such a big part of your life? I've always loved music, even when I was little. I can't really imagine my life without it. Where do you want to go with this after marching band? I'd like to always be able to play the euphonium. Maybe after this I'd be able to buy my own (instrument) and play in small ensembles, like tuba quartets or something. Or even just play on my own for fun.