It is that time of year again where the Marching Spartans are in full swing and thriving more than ever before. This year, the Spartans are performing a show titled “A Grimm Tale.” It follows the story of Little Red Riding Hood with each movement of the show following a different part of the well-known fairy tale. 

In the beginning of the show, the wind players are set up in a sort of path formation where guard members march through to portray Little Red walking down the path in the woods. The beginning music is cheery and welcoming while there is a voice-over being played to introduce the story of Little Red and give the audience a good idea as to what is going on. At the end of this movement, junior guard member Ash Nolan pulls off front and back handsprings to wow the audience and then howls with the soundtrack, while the rest of the ensemble ends in an attack pose facing towards the guard members who are portraying Little Red Riding Hood. 

The second movement gives more of a hint to conflict. Hornline introduces the piece Hunting Wabbits by Gorden Goodwin, which is fun and upbeat while guard continues a positive and safe portrayal of Little Red and no sign of the Wolf just yet. Also during this movement is a percussion feature where the Front Ensemble gets their turn to shine and then turns it over to the drum line where their talents are featured. After the solos, Hornline comes back in and that movement ends with a bit of uneasiness and uncertainty of what will come next. 

Movement Three begins with Little Red entering the cottage to be met with the Wolf. A brass chorale begins with playing a recognizable piece, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Franki Valli and then it is turned over to soloists AJ Lasorsa on trombone and Karl Sargent on trumpet. After the soloist feature, the rest of the ensemble comes in for a company front and all join in on playing the song mentioned above for a very impactful moment. All while this is going on, senior guard member Callie Robertson portrays the attack of the Wolf as she makes her way through the ensemble very ferociously. 

The final movement begins with the vinyl props being a large picture of the Wolf’s scary eyes, and the purpose of the whole movement is to complete the conflict of Little Red and the Wolf. The first part of Movement 4 reintroduces the fun and upbeat tempo of the music while guard finishes the conflict between Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. The second part of Movement 4 is celebratory and uplifting as Little Red has WON the fight. The Marching Band finishes off the show with the vinyls changing from the Wolf’s eyes back to the cottage, to show that the fight is over and Little Red has conquered the Wolf and is safe again. 

The Marching Band has lots coming up, such as more halftime performances, their competitions at North Andover (10/14), Wakefield (10/21), Reading (10/28), and NESBA Finals (11/5)! At these competitions there are judges who are giving them scores in their overall performance as well as individual things such as how the music sounds, visual presentation, guard, percussion, etc. 

After their competition season they have a few more performances for the year such as the Fall Concert, Ashburnham Christmas Parade, Memorial Day Parade, and all the way in June, School Tours Day! There are lots of opportunities to see this fall program, it is certainly something you do not want to miss!