The 2022 Marching Season has been very enjoyable for the Karns High School Marching Band. The shows were spectacular and the competitions were very fun for the members of the Karns band. Competitions and exhibitions have always been a key part of this school’s marching band and many other bands as well. The football games have always been exciting for Karns band students but a selection of band members prefer competitions and exhibitions over these football games. 

Junior Bryson Smith says “It took a while to finish the show but I’m very satisfied with the end result.” 

Fine tuning out all the details of these performances can be tricky but the end result is worth it in the end.

Bryson says his favorite part of the show was “…watching Pride of the Southland (UT Band) at the Knox County Exhibition.”

This year at the Karns Knox County exhibition, bands from all over Knox county were fortunate enough to see the well known UT Marching band perform here at Karns.

Bryson, as well as other Junior Nathan Kit, also adds how our school did as a whole this season. He says “Personally… I think as an ensemble we did great. We beat out bands in certain categories that we weren’t even close to [skill-wise] last year.”

Nathan says “[This season] was more work than previous years.”

As this season comes to an end, our seniors realize that these are the last time they’ll be performing for our school. Senior Eli Hicks describes this in a bittersweet way when answering how he feels about his last season of marching. 

Eli says “It feels good and bad because I’m ready to move on but I know I’ll miss my friends.”

Eli also says his favorite part of this season was “…getting to spend one last season with my friends.”

The student members of Karns Band worked very hard this season and had incredible performances this season just like they’ve done in the past. None of this would be possible without the staff of the Karns band who pushed these kids to use their best efforts in marching and performing this year. 

Band Director Mr. Crawford says “I think we did really well and improved quite a bit from where we started and how we ended up. We improved 30 points from the comp in HVA to the one in Alcoa. I’m very proud of the progress we made.”

Crawford describes that the competition at the beginning of the season has improved greatly from the competition at the end with a huge 30 point difference. He’s very proud of these kids and how far they’ve come.

Percussion teacher Mr. Gallagher adds “I thought it went really well… it was the most involved show physically and musically… Really awesome and everyone is improving.”

These teachers really care about their students and want to see their full capabilities in Band and it really shows.

Crawford says his favorite part of this season is “…seeing the growth of the individuals, growth of the leadership kids, friendships that develop from band, not necessarily one part in particular.”

Both teachers note that this season has been really fun and that everyone had a blast. Our Band here at Karns puts in a lot of effort to represent this school’s fine art. Their efforts reflect in their shows they put on and their teachers are really proud of them.