While Shadow Hills High School frequently celebrates its sports and academic achievements, the hours of dedication poured into the music program often go unnoticed.
On Feb. 16, the Shadow Hills Regiment of the Realm Marching Band won second place at the Riverside County Fair & Date Festival, securing a $4,000 prize.
Noah Thompson, Class of 2028, is a triple threat in the department, participating in the marching band, wind ensemble and honor band. Despite being only a sophomore, Thompson has developed a seasoned perspective on the program.
“I started back in my DRA days in eighth grade when I did marching band for Shadow Hills,” Thompson said. “Currently, I’m in wind ensemble, and in the past year I’ve been a part of marching band and one semester of jazz band.”
In addition to juggling instruments, Thompson has stepped into a leadership role. “I have kind of switched between piano, trumpet and baritone,” he said. “I also lead the high brass section, which consists of trumpets and French horns, for the marching band.”
Quinn Greely, Class of 2027, has also been a dedicated member of the program. “I am in marching band, ensemble band and jazz band,” Greely said. “I have been in band for three years here at Shadow. This is my third year, but in terms of actually doing band, this is my fifth year.”
Greely has secured significant leadership roles during his tenure. “I have been the low brass section leader for the past two years in the marching band and this past year I was band captain,” he said.
To maintain his competitive edge, Greely follows a rigorous practice schedule. “I do practice a lot. I practice at least an hour a day, or at least try to,” he said. “I also practice in school, during class, and sometimes during lunch. I practice as much as I can outside of school.”
His dedication extends to mastering a wide variety of instruments. “I play pretty much all the low brass—tuba, baritone, euphonium, trombone, etcetera,” Greely said. “I am also currently learning trumpet.”
Band director Willard Lacro has led the Shadow Hills music program for over four years. Lacro maintains discipline and structure through frequent, lengthy rehearsals to ensure the program performs at its best.
“Different groups are kind of different, so each of the bands we have are class periods,” Lacro explained. “For wind ensemble, which is my top concert group, we do an additional three-to-four-hour rehearsal every week. For the percussion, if they are a part of winter percussion, they practice an extra eight hours a week.”
He added that he also calls for extra rehearsals ahead of major performances.
The band stays busy year-round, appearing at various venues and events. “For marching band, we do our competitions, we’ve performed in Riverside,” Lacro said. “We also just did the President’s Day parade in Indio, and our marching band and pep band performed at the Firebirds game last Saturday.”
Looking ahead, Lacro has a full calendar for the jazz and spring bands. “We have our ‘Spring Spectacular’ on Wednesday, March 11. In May, we have our spring concert; I think it’s the first Thursday in May,” he said. “We’re also going to have a jazz band spring concert on either May 20 or May 21, and we’re bringing in a guest artist, Barb Shinaver, who is a professional trombone player in the Fresno area.”
While the hours of practicing and teaching often go unnoticed, the band’s talent and commitment are clear at every event.
