CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA) — Fans nationwide, including those in Central Illinois, are eagerly gearing up for the 2025 college football season, with Illini games being a major highlight. Alongside the teams, marching bands are also in preparation mode, gearing up to support their schools on the field.
Around 1,000 students from 28 different states are investing part of their summer in Smith Walbridge Clinics (SWC), held at the Eastern Illinois University campus. Each week of this unique program is concentrated on different aspects of the marching arts, covering skills necessary for the drumline, color guard, and drum majors.
The final two weeks of the camp are tailored for drum majors, those who lead and conduct bands, at the high school and college levels.
Leya Mehari, a drum major from Western Michigan University, and Theodore Nevins, a drum major from Urbana High School, are both first-time attendees at the camp.
“I feel like I’m learning so much,” Mehari said. “From every person I meet, I am learning something new that I’ve never heard before.”
It’s a similar story for Nevins, who’s preparing to put his sousaphone down this fall and lead Urbana’s Tiger Marching Band in a new way.
“It’s a lot of going over fundamentals,” he said. “Especially for us with the mace; learning how to march with a mace again.”
Barry Houser, the SWC president and director, brings in decades of expertise while leading the student musicians, alongside many other instructors.
“I came here as a high school drum major from John Glenn High School in Indiana all the way back in 1992,” Houser said.
He said the goal is to cultivate a positive, fun environment where students of all backgrounds can thrive and grow.
“Some of these students are working on probably some of the hardest things they’ve done, but there are smiles on their faces and they realize what they can accomplish,” the director added.
With every ounce of improvement on a personal level also comes an opportunity to spread those skills on a larger scale.
“It’s helping us grow into our leadership positions and learn the skills that we need, such as conducting, marching, and teaching,” Nevins said.
Hearing sentiments like that is “music” to Houser’s ears.
“I continue to be encouraged that our future is really bright with the students that we have here and what they’re doing on a spectacular level,” he said.
As for college bands in Central Illinois, the Marching Illini and Panther Marching Band both return to the field on August 17th. The Big Red Marching Machine on the Illinois State University campus starts on August 10th. That kicks off their week-long band camp programs ahead of football season.
