The Limestone Marching Rockets have dominated the competition this season with their show “Elevated”. The show this year was meant to inspire you. Band Director, Justin Bainter explains he wants it to, “portray the idea of becoming elevated.” They are using abstraction in their show like pointing to the sky, jumping, climbing on props, etc. to represent their idea of being elevated. 

Bainter’s goals for the show are to recover at least some of what we had lost from the pandemic, to get back to a place where we are playing well, moving well, working at a high level, and achieving a sense of normalcy. Bainter says, “The students have not only done that but have surpassed our expectations, forcing us to refocus towards our usual goal of achieving excellence.”

“I am incredibly proud of the perseverance, the work, and the performance that we have achieved with this show! The students, staff, and parents have really come together to put together the best season we could have hoped for post-pandemic. Over the course of this season, I feel like the show has become very good at portraying its intent while also maintaining its entertainment value,” Bainter exclaims. 

Bainter and the team have received many awards, taking 1st place and “Best Percussion” in class 6A at the Washington Panther Invitational, 2nd place in class 3A, 4th in finals at the Morton Invitational, 1st place Best Percussion, Best Guard in class 6A at the Metamora Field Competition, and 3rd place in class 4A at the Dunlap Field Competition.

Bainter explains, “The placements and awards we’ve earned are very accurate and are a byproduct of our work – for better and for worse. Adding new things like calligraphy created some struggle but they bounced back and have been performing amazing shows and doing a great job. For us, placements and scores, and thus awards, are a byproduct of work, growth, excellence, and performance quality. Though “winning” is nice, we are relaying a groundwork of excellence that will serve the band for years to come – and THAT is extremely exciting.”

The Marching Rockets performed at 7:34 am on Saturday, October 23 on the campus of Illinois State University for their Marching Band Championships. The call time for that morning was 4:15 am and 36 degrees. The Rockets performed third out of thirteen bands in classes 1 and 2A. Despite these challenges, the Rockets put on an incredible performance. Their result was 3rd place in class 2A and 5th place out of 13 in classes 1 and 2A.

Bainter ends with “This season may rank among the toughest seasons I have ever performed or taught, but it has been a blessing for our staff, students, and parents. The students have been incredibly diligent, unbelievably mature, and astoundingly receptive. For the staff, it has been a chaotic and rewarding return to normalcy after an indescribably difficult time. I am personally grateful for all of the people that have been associated with this program. From the designers and teachers to the performers, volunteers, and audience members – everyone involved with our band program has helped me realize how blessed we are to have the community that we have at LCHS.”