Champaign Central students are nearing the end of their 2024-2025 school year, and many accomplishments have been made. Specifically, the music department has made some big ones.
Marching Band
The Champaign Central Marching Band has approximately 170 students. Anyone who signs up can join unless they want to be in the drumline or color guard, which are audition-based.
During the marching season, late July to mid-November, the students go outside in place of their PE class until 4:30 and practice the show drill and music to prepare for football games and competitions.
For the first time in Maroon history, they placed second in their class at the Illinois Marching Band Championships (IMBC). “I was really surprised that we placed at all. I thought all the schools there were big suburban schools that would kick our butts. I was honestly pretty shocked and impressed by us,” freshman at Central and snare on the drumline, Lucy Rank, said about the competition and its results.
Central’s Lab band plays at the swing dance.
Jazz Band
Central High School offers three big bands and three combos. Based on a student’s audition and skill level, you are placed in one of the three big bands: Lab band, Stage band, or Ensemble. Students can also be in more than one.
Lab band is for beginning jazz band players and normally helps students learn how to play jazz on their instrument.
Stage band is for the more experienced students, and Ensemble is for the advanced jazz musicians.
All three compete at competitions such as the Purdue Jazz Festival and the EIU Jazz Festival.
Students can also participate in a combo. That is when a smaller group of students gets together and plays music that gives them more opportunities to solo and experiment. Central has three combos: Lynn Street, Park Avenue, and New Street. The names are based on the streets surrounding Central.
At the Purdue Jazz Festival on January 25, 2025, Central’s Ensemble won first place and got the opportunity to play in the final concert. For the combos, New Street won first place, Park Avenue won second place, and Lynn Street won third place.
Concert Band
At Central, concert bands are offered as a class. There are three concert bands, and two of them are audition-based. Beginning band is open to anyone who wants to learn an instrument, Symphonic band/concert band is for intermediate musicians, and Wind Symphony is for advanced students. Symphonic band and Wind Symphony are audition-based.
Wind Symphony annually makes it to the Superstate Concert Band Festival at the Krannert Center. This is an audition-based festival.
