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Achievements
South Lyon has been a competitive marching band since 2001. Since then, we've recieved numerous awards and accolades. Under the direction of Stephen M. Cross until 2007, our new director is Robert K. Bosma, previously of Kent City. We have competed in every MCBA State Finals since 2001, 4 of those times resulting in a silver medal. We also competed at BOA Grand Nationals twice, in 2005 and 2006, and also numerous times at the BOA Pontiac Regional, twice resulting in a run at finals. In the spring of 2006, the SLMB took a trip to the Strawberry Festival in West Virginia as the Honor Band and performed their 2005 competitive show, resulting in 1st place at the contest and numerous awards for parades and other things. The band was named the Grand Sweepstakes Winner of the 2006 Strawberry fest.
A Season of Change
In the summer of 2007, the South Lyon Pride of Lions underwent many serious changes. Mr. Cross left to go teach at Bellbrooke High School, resulting in the hiring of Mr. Bosma to direct the band. Also, another high school was added to the South Lyon Public School System, significantly reducing the number of students both in the High School and the marching band. This also resulted in the band being moved from Flight I to Flight II. Marching Band at South Lyon High made the switch from being co-cirricular to being extra-cirricular, meaning all marching band practice had to be done outside of school hours, and SLP, the winter drumline at South Lyon, also attempted to become an independant line, therefore making the fall season no longer a requirement for percussionists to participate in the winter season. The show performed that year, Carmen, was pre-written and pre-designed, due to the very short time the new band director had to organize the show.
Productions
Since becoming a competitive marching band, South Lyon has performed the following shows:
2001 - Styx
In one of their first competitive shows, the Pride of Lions performed the music of the band Styx, including the songs Rockin' The Paradise, Babe, Mr. Roboto, and Come Sail Away.
2002 - Voyage of the Stardancer
Marking the first time South Lyon broke into the MCBA Top 5 in their flight, this show was a work written by David Arkenstone, a new age composer. Set in a fantastic world, it told the story of the Stardancer, a ship that had to journey through trials and hardships of the sea before reaching it's final destination.
2003 - Carmina Burana
In 2003, the SLMB started their streak of playing the classics. Carmina Burana is a piece by written by Carl Orff in the 1930s. It was written based off of 24 of the poems found in the medieval collection Carmina Burana. This was also the first time South Lyon got second place at the MCBA state finals, where they would stay for the next 3 years, behind the Plymouth-Canton marching band.
2004 - The Pines of Rome
This masterpiece by Ottorino Respighi proved to be the most challenging show musically yet for the marching band. Each movement portrays the location of pine trees in the city during different parts of the day. The climax comes at the end of the show, depicting the great clash of Roman steel at the Pines of the Appian Way.
2005 - Pictures at an Exhibition
2005 was the first time that South Lyon took the trip to Indiapolis to attend the BOA Grand Nationals. They played the timeless classic Pictures at an Exhibition by Modesto Mussorgsky. These pieces were written to go along with 10 paintings by Mussorgky's good friend Viktor Hartmann, who unfortunately suffered an early death at 39.
2006 - A Brief History of Communication
Breaking out of their romantic streak, the Pride of Lions played a number of minimalistic pieces. As an opener, they used Short Ride in a Fast Machine, by John C. Adams. Their ballad was the Shape of Things to Come, a string piece featured in Battlestar Galactica. Finally, they used Circuits as their closer, a very modern and industrial sounding piece by Cindy McTee. With these pieces, they briefly went through the evolution of communication since the 1900s, starting with the telegraph (Short Ride), telephone (Shape of Things to Come), and the cell phone (Circuits).
2007 - Carmen
Carmen was a pre-written show that South Lyon played in 2007, featuring music from the opera Carmen. Carmen told the story of a beautiful woman who became the ruin of every man she encountered.
And presenting the SLMB's 2008 production: That's So Cliche!
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