Grovetown band is aware of its place in school lore

When Renae Capers, 16, marches onto the football field Friday, she knows it'll be the beginning of a legacy.

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As the drum major of the new Grovetown High School's marching band, the junior will lead her 90 bandmates in their first halftime performance.

"I'm very excited," Renae said. "The whole newness of it all. I like that. We can start new trends. We're the first."

The marching band, like the student population of the county's newest high school, is made up of students from Evans, Greenbrier and Harlem high schools along with several middle schools, said band director Brian Toney, who served as assistant band director at Greenbrier for two years and band director at Riverside Middle School last year.

"We're definitely excited about the possibilities we've got going here," Toney said during band camp in July. "We've got some good facilities. It is a mixture of kids from a lot of different places, and I appreciate how they are all working together."

Despite their varied backgrounds, the band members don't seem to hold allegiances to their former schools.

"They seem to be working well together, kind of meshing to make something that's their own," said Toney. "I really appreciate the seniors because they are the kids who chose to come here, chose to be a part of the band, part of the ones that are really (taking on roles) of leadership."

Senior Diondra Johnson, who plays trumpet, said everybody seems to get along great after bonding during the week of long, hot practices for band camp.

Seniors who were zoned for the Grovetown school could opt to attend Grovetown High or their previous school.

Johnson, 17, chose to attend Grovetown rather than finishing her high school career at Harlem High School.

"I just thought it was a new experience, to meet new people," Johnson said.

Senior flutist Gwen Angleton, 17, attended Greenbrier High last year and said it was time for a change. So she's spending her senior year at Grovetown High, too. Plus, she'd worked with Toney at Greenbrier and said he was part of the reason for her decision.

Justin Threats, 17, said the choice to leave Harlem High was a little more difficult.

Now he's one of the two trombone players in the newly formed band.

"I wanted to be here with my friends and meet new people," Threats said. "I wanted to see my friends at my old school."

Toney said as the students form the foundation for the school's band program, they've been working hard on a daring and exciting half-time show.

The show, themed "Everyday Heroes," features the Superman theme, the Batman theme, Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, and Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.

"We'll be honoring the people who do things that make our country great everyday, not just focusing on superheroes," Toney said.