The band held their Spring Concert on Thursday May 12. This concert marked the end of many seniors’ band careers, but the band’s final concert of the year will be their jazz showcase on Thursday May 19. 

“I really enjoyed the concert,” senior Jeffrey Blaker said. “I felt like it was a good end to my senior year and my high school band career.”

Many underclassmen were heartbroken to see the people they looked up to leaving after their final performance.

“In all honesty, it’s a moment that I’ve been dreading since I came to high school,” junior Sophia Cruz said. “A lot of my friends are seniors. I’ve gotten to see them grow up since I was in middle school. They always had my back, and I always had theirs. I’m not ready for them to leave because I’m going to miss them so much. It makes me happy that they get to start their journey, but I’m sad that they won’t be here with me in high school to finish my senior year.”

Most of the band’s seniors were excited to be done and ready to take on whatever comes next.

“I’m just ready to stop spending all my time on music, education and practices,” senior Zane Martin said. “I put so much time into band, which was good for high school, but now I can use all my extra free time to go and pursue new avenues.

The band said a tearful goodbye to their seniors, but they’re ready to step up and fill their shoes. 

“Stepping up as a leader isn’t as easy as people lead on,” sophomore Lilly Galarneau said. “To be a leader, you have to step out of your comfort zone and be able to adapt. I’m very excited to lead this marching season as a junior drum major and to watch the incoming freshmen learn to live in the Willis High School band program and watch our new seniors grow into adults. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”