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This year’s Pipestone Area Schools marching band includes 46 students in grades seven through 12. The band’s first competition is Saturday, Sept. 13 in Rosemount. Photo by Kyle Kuphal
The Pipestone Area Marching Arrows will begin the competitive marching band season on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the Rosemount Marching Band Festival.
This year’s band includes 46 members in seventh through 12th grade, which is up from 36 at the start of last season. Band Director Dr. Zachary Ploeger said this year’s band includes just one senior, Drum Major Sefora Gamboa Herrera, which could bode well for more growth next year.
“There’s a lot of room for growth if all the kids come back and we only graduate one,” he said. “We could hit 60 next year. Sixty’s kind of that magic number, I feel, where stuff starts to happen in terms of competitiveness.”
Band members have been preparing for the 2025 competitive season since June, sometimes putting in full 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. days of rehearsal. They unveiled this year’s field show, titled “Mirror, Mirror,” during their community night performance on Aug. 8 at Paulsen Field.
Ploeger said the show is about reflection and opposites. That’s visible in the black and white uniforms, which were made by Collene Landgren specifically for this year’s show. It’s also visible in the mirrors that will frame the band, condensing the field and making it look like the band fills the space better. The mirrors also reflect the band, making it look larger. Ploeger said he’s hoping all of that will help the band earn higher scores from the judges.
“With the props, with the music, with the uniforms, the visuals, the drill, you want everything to flow back into that “Mirror, Mirror” theme as much as possible and that helps you boost your general effect scores,” he said.
He said he came up with a general concept for this year’s field show and Spencer Kruse, a member of the Pipestone Area Schools (PAS) class of 2011, arranged the music. Ploeger said he and Kruse worked together to pick songs for the show.
“Something the kids and parents have asked me is, ‘can we have music that we recognize,’” Ploeger said.
With that in mind, songs including “Toxic” by Britney Spears, “You Should See Me in a Crown” by Billie Eilish and “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica were integrated into the show along with “Winter” by Antonio Vivaldi and “Snow White” by Tchaikovsky.
The show features a baritone duet by Cecelia Przybys and Bo Stogdill and a trumpet quartet including Mackenzie Lange, Mackenzie Bauer, Charles Haak and Harper Winsel. Pete Hansen, executive director of Groove, Inc., wrote the percussion for this year’s show with help from Chris Sikkema, who is also part of Groove, Inc. Dameon Place, band director in Pella, Iowa, wrote the drill, and Sarah Thursby, color guard coach for Mankato Area Public Schools, wrote the guard work.
Sefora Gamboa Herrera is the drum major for this year’s Pipestone Area Marching Arrows. She is also the only senior in the band. Photo by
Kyle Kuphal
The Marching Arrows have also been preparing a parade show titled “Toxic.” Ploeger said the parade includes the first minute or so of music from the field show, which makes it easier. The band will wear the traditional green and black uniforms for parade competitions, the first of which is Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Waseca Marching Classic.
Ploeger said the band has been doing well leading up to the competitive season and encouraged community members to come to this year’s competitions, wear green and make some noise in the stands to support the band.