The Cyclone Marching Band convened the week before classes in a week-long band camp to prepare students for their season of performances.

The marching band takes a hefty commitment but pays off for most students involved, said Lauren Hansen, a junior in apparel, merchandising and design. Hansen helps to keep the rehearsals running smoothly and organizes the week of practice before classes instead of performing with the band.

“It’s super fun,” Hansen said. “I actually look forward to band camp every summer, like, it’s a great way to get back into school. So it’s a nice way to see a lot of familiar faces around campus, get used to being around campus all day, and then also just making music with a band and having a good time with all my friends in the band.”

Band camp is split into rehearsals where new members prepare for auditions at the beginning of the week, then the rest of the band joins to prepare for the upcoming season, according to Hansen.

“Band camp is all about auditioning new members and getting them into either of the ensembles and seeing where they fit within our band program and then preparing those new members and returning members on things that we’ll be using the upcoming season,” Hansen said.

The first two days are dedicated to teaching new band members the essentials of marching and playing certain materials before everybody auditions for their parts Wednesday.

The first few days are when the grind really picked up, according to Ella Stineman, a freshman in pre-architecture and a new member of the marching band’s Color Guard.

Most of the new members of the marching band auditioned for their prospective parts and ensembles Wednesday, except for the color guard, who auditioned Monday.

“I would say it’s pretty competitive,” Hansen said. “It definitely depends year to year and what kind of section you’re going for, but overall for the whole ensembles, like both of our major ensembles, so the varsity band and the state storm, they’re both very competitive to get into.”

While the competition for various parts in the band was fairly steep, Stineman said the auditions themselves were relatively casual and relaxed.

“It was a very laid back process, it was a very smooth and welcoming process,” Stineman said. “I felt very welcomed from the minute I walked into the room. The people who are new to the audition and then the guides, they were all just so welcoming.”

The easygoing atmosphere around the auditions is also present throughout the band, allowing members to keep calm throughout the week and not get upset about small mistakes.

“It’s just an immediately welcoming atmosphere, and I still love the atmosphere that practices have,” Stineman said. “We’re all so good at hyping each other up and giving each other encouragement even if we drop the flag on a simple move or a toss like we all are just so supportive of each other and that’s what I really love about this group.”

The long hours of band camp also exist to show new members the level of commitment that is expected of them, said George Cleaver, a trumpet player and a sophomore in electrical engineering.

For Cleaver, as well as other returning members who were able to audition at the end of the previous year, band camp began Thursday with the first assembly of the marching band since the results of the auditions.

According to Cleaver, the members were expected to be on the field in formation at 7 a.m., so they could cycle through parts of campus to work on different aspects of the various performances.

“It was great, it’s so fun,” Cleaver said. “It doesn’t sound very fun being on the field for 12 hours in the heat and working hard the whole time being on your feet, but it’s so fun. Because it’s like being out there with a family that you haven’t been able to see for three months.”

As Cleaver points out, many of the members of the band form close ties with those around them.

“You’re all on the same page,” Cleaver said. “Especially the returners, they’ve all been through this process before. And I guess what I would compare it to is, it’s an obvious way easier version of like, boot camp in the Army, and it’s doing something with a group of people that is really grueling and time-consuming.”

Cleaver thinks the time spent with fellow band enthusiasts during the week before classes help to build strong relationships. Getting immersed into a group as tightly knit as the marching band helps members feel at home in their new environment.

“So, my freshman year I didn’t know anyone at all, but when I went to band camp, you move in early before all the other freshmen,” Cleaver said. “And I met all these people in the band program and in band camp, spending over half of the day with them every single day, I’d almost say I didn’t have time to feel homesick,”

Working with fellow band members towards a common goal helps to strengthen the connections they build throughout the week, Cleaver said. For the Cyclone Marching Band, that common goal was being prepared for their performance at the Iowa State fair the coming weekend.

At the State Fair, the marching band held a parade throughout the fairgrounds, stopping at three locations to play a mini-performance. According to Cleaver, the show was most comparable to some of the pep-band performances usually seen in the stands at athletic events.

“There were a lot of Cyclones at the fair and there was a lot of Hawkeyes as well,” Cleaver said. “It definitely united a lot of people at the fair, every time we stopped there was a new completely different crowd of people that were all excited to listen and hear what was going on.”

The marching band continues to practice for an hour and a half every day, with upcoming performances including Victory Day Friday and the first Cyclone football game Sept. 3.