By Sarah Hall

Editor

This college bowl season, the Cicero-North Syracuse Marching Band will join bands from across the country in performing in the halftime show finale at the TaxSlayer Bowl.

Director Karen Seamans will lead the 106-member band in their performance in Jacksonville, where they’ll rehearse with the entire band and nationally acclaimed adjudicators.

Seamans said all members of the band will have a role to play in the show.

“All of them will travel to the bowl and compete and perform, as the all have an integral part in the show,” she said. “There is no bench in our marching band!”

The TaxSlayer Bowl, sponsored by TaxSlayer.com, takes place at 11 a.m. Dec. 31 at EverBank Field. A team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will compete against a team from either the Big Ten Conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference or Notre Dame.

Seamans said the band has attended this bowl before.

“The last time they went to a bowl game was in 1997, and it was the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville — the same one we are attending this year, just with a new name,” she said. “Prior to that in 1989-90, when I was a member of the band, we went to the Holiday Bowl and the Tournament of Roses parade. The band won the field competitions at both of those events and earned the right to perform part of their show for pre-game.”

Seamans said the band was invited to perform this year by WorldStrides On Stage, the company that organizes the high school bowl game programs. The company emailed her last year inviting the band to perform at either the TaxSlayer Bowl or the Russell Athletic Bowl, played Dec. 28 in Orlando.

“We chose the TaxSlayer Bowl because there was a field show competition in addition to a mass band performance,” Seamans said.

When she told the students of the opportunity, they were elated.

“[They’re] very excited. None of them have been on a trip this big with the band,” Seamans said. “We got to perform on a large stage last year when we were invited to the New York City St. Patrick’s Parade, but this is an even bigger stage.”

That said, the preparation for the show isn’t that different than in any other season, at least at the moment.

“We are working hard on our show to compete around the state,” Seamans said. “The difference will come when state championships are over and we still need to practice to keep the show up for December.”

The cost, however, does necessitate some extra fundraising.

“The cost is a little over $1,000 per student,” Seamans said. “We have done several fundraisers including bottle drives, and have sold just about everything possible. We always have three or four fundraisers going on at any given time to try to provide opportunities for everyone. We also run a concession stand at the Dome to help raise money. We have been running a Buy a Mile campaign where people or businesses can donate $50 per mile they would like to sponsor.”

Once the band makes it to Jacksonville, it’s not all work and no play; there will be time for some fun. They’ll head down on Dec. 26 and drive through the 27th. In addition to the field competition and the halftime show, the band will have time to check out Universal Studios and downtown Jacksonville on Dec. 28.

But clearly, the main focus is the show. The winner of the field competition on the 29th gets to perform the pregame show, so the C-NS band — currently undefeated in its class — has its sights set on that goal. There’s also practice with the mass band and a pep rally with the football teams and college bands on the 30th at Jacksonville Landing, followed by the game and main performance on the 31st.

Seamans said while the kids are excited about the impending performance, she doesn’t think they truly grasp the enormity of it all.

“I think they are going to be amazed when they get out there,” she said. “It is definitely a once-in-a lifetime opportunity and one they will always remember.”

For upcoming fundraisers and competitions, visit cnsmarchingband.org and check the calendar. To help the band raise money to attend the bowl, contact John Dembowski at [email protected] or go to the “Support Us” page to donate using PayPal.