June 18, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Get to know to know SJO Senior Marching Band member Maya Hewkin

My favorite thing about marching band is the connection between the students. Being in band is like being a part of a huge family, and I’ve met all of my best friends from being involved in marching band

My favorite memory from marching band was a competition last year where we won every award for our class. I forget which competition it was exactly, but we received the awards for best winds, best percussion, best color guard, and first place for our class.

My favorite piece to perform was last year’s marching show, “Captiv.” The music wasn’t necessarily better than any other I’ve performed, but last year’s show was the first one where I got the chance to march the bass clarinet. The music felt special to me because it was very different from what I had played before.

Last year’s show had my favorite costume. I liked the way that it looked more than other costumes, but it also felt like the most practical in a way. The costume wasn’t very hot, so there weren’t many issues with people overheating in costume, but it was very easy to layer under it and stay warm during cold performances.

The biggest misconception people have about marching band is that it isn’t very physically taxing. It’s hard carrying an instrument around! Especially for people like me who play big instruments, being able to march in time, while carrying an unwieldy instrument, and also having enough breath support to sound good is physically very difficult.

in Life, People
Banner
Related Posts

Ask the Doctor with Dr. Jeanelle Murphy

April 6, 2020

April 6, 2020

How much screen time should my child have? What are the pros and cons for letting a toddler or grade...

Kids Say

October 22, 2019

October 22, 2019

Every week we ask area students questions about being a farmer. This week we spoke to kids at PVO South....

Hartman makes finals of Project Run and Play.

April 14, 2022

April 14, 2022

St. Joseph resident Emily Hartman has made it to the last round of Project Run and Play. The project is...

‘Being the first of anything comes with challenges, but also a lot of opportunity’

July 13, 2021

July 13, 2021

St. Joseph Village Administrator Joseph Hackney likes challenges. “Being the first of anything comes with challenges, but also a lot...

10 things you don’t know about me… Amy Gibbons

December 18, 2019

December 18, 2019

How did you come up with the name for your salon? 192 is actually the St. Joseph exit number. I...

Kidd hopes to ‘Gather the Good’ on blog

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Nancy Kidd knows there is good in all people. The St. Joseph resident said that as a former juvenile detention...

10 things you don’t know about me… Vickie Reese

July 3, 2019

July 3, 2019

Every week we ask a village resident to tell us 10 interesting things about themselves. This week we asked Vickie...

Franzen finds freedom in music

October 4, 2019

October 4, 2019

Dakota Franzen is an inspiration. Marching Band Director Chuck Hess said Franzen’s efforts to be the best he can be...

SJO to name football field in Duval’s honor

May 26, 2020

May 26, 2020

Like most people who have ever known Dick Duval, Brian Brooks can remember their first-ever meeting. It happened 17 years...

‘He was the kind of person everyone was happy to see’

July 19, 2025

July 19, 2025

Sam Shonkwiler was full of life. He would walk in a room and people would call his name. He had...

10 Things You Don’t Know about me… Sharon Jeffers

March 20, 2019

March 20, 2019

I have two grown and married children, Logan/Tressica and Lauren/Kris, and two beautiful grandchildren Weston, and Emma I grew up...

Hometown appeal: The Wheelhouse earns Business of the Year honors

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

When the Wheelhouse opened in 2017, it was unlike anything in St. Joseph. And still is. The farm-to-table restaurant owned...

Plotner to be honored with scholarship

January 22, 2019

January 22, 2019

Mary Derenne decided to start the new year right. Even though she had been thinking about it for a few...

Kids Say

April 16, 2019

April 16, 2019

Every week we ask five students from a local school to answer a question on a worksheet. This week the...

10 things you don’t know about me… Abbie Layden-Rogiers

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019

Each week we ask a community member to tell us 10 things about themselves. This week is Abbie Layden-Rogiers, owner...

Comments
Leave a Reply