By MARY BAILEY The Reporter

With almost 100 members strong the Pride of Douglas Marching Band has kicked off their 2024 band camp in preparation for this year’s half time show.

Jesse Tiner, Band Director for Douglas, says he is excited for what this season is bringing.

“First of all, we have had a wonderful start to our camp with 82 members this year, up from 64 last year. It’s great to see good quality growth in our program along with the numerical growth we are seeing,” Tiner said of the band.

“This year, our students wanted to treat the crowd to a musical tribute to Michael Jackson. We’ll be highlighting music from MJ’s career, including “I’ll Be There” from his youth with the Jackson 5, through some of his greatest hits; “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Beat It,” and “Smooth Criminal.” We also want to recognize MJ’s contributions to encouraging peace and love through his music, so we are ending our show with pieces of “Heal the World” and “I’ll Be There,” with some other surprises worth making sure you stay in your seats at halftime.”

Heat has been a factor this month, but the band has pushed on

“We try to make our camp productive and enjoyable for our students. Battling the heat for two weeks is no fun unless you make it fun, so we make sure we include some team building activities and a little sectional competitions and silly dress up days into the mix as well,” Tiner added.

“We have 12 seniors this year as well, and we want to make sure it’s a special season for them, so they’ll take these memories with them throughout their future.”

The Pride of Douglas Band is under the direction of Drum Major, Josh Gavina.

Douglas High School Senior band members include: Ayden Allred, Francisco Bautista, Andrew Camp, Eric Cathey, Rainah David, Miguel Hernandez Martinez, Paisley Hoffman, Mark Mason, Leonardo Moreno, Trey Ore, Miranda Turner and Marisol Venegas Ramos.