Lakeville South Marching Cougars Bring Home Top Honors from 29th Annual Waseca Marching Classic in Effort to Combat Cancer

A recent gray, drizzly Saturday morning was no match for the spirit and enthusiasm of the Lakeville South Marching Cougars as they put the final touches to a show dedicated to combatting cancer.

Saturday, September 17 marked another first in Lakeville South High School history as the Marching Cougars headed to a day filled with parade and field competition along with eight additional bands from Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota. These bands were experienced, solid and strong. But they hadn’t met the Marching Cougars, who came with passion, pride and the desire to represent their school.

Competition began with a parade that had not one, but two judging areas. One for parade technical components and the other for audience appreciation. The band earned 1st place in AAA division, 2nd place overall and capped the morning by also winning the People’s Choice award. They were loud, strong and full of fun; exactly what parade audiences want to experience.

Following the parade, the Marching Cougars performed their field show for two judges who spent an hour working with the group offering suggestions on what can be done to improve the show.

“The Lakeville South Marching Band is not a competitive marching band and we don’t rehearse on a competitive schedule, but many of the students expressed interest in entering a competition this summer,” said Chad Bieniek, band director. “When entering competitions, you can enter to be judged or in exhibition. I chose to enter to be judged so we could gain constructive feedback on what we are doing well and where we need to improve.”

A quick break for dinner, then it was off to perform in front of a stadium-filled audience.

Although the show is officially is entitled “Music of Beethoven”, it’s themed around fighting cancer with the American Cancer Society. The show was created to reflect how cancer affects all of our families. Students recorded stories how cancer has affected their families and these stories are read during their performance. The show ends with triumphant cancer survival stories and large pink flags symbolizing the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Campaign, while the band performs Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

They were given a standing ovation as the group exited the field and marched by the stands.

At the end of the evening, the field judges awarded Lakeville South High School Marching Cougars with a 2nd place in AAA division and the Herb Streitz Spirit Award, an honor given to one band every year who best demonstrates the pride, spirit, enthusiasm, friendliness and unity desired of all high school band persons.

Continues Bieniek, “The kids felt extremely proud of what they accomplished, their positive energy was obvious to the judges, the fans and me. When students feel success and are energized by it, that fuels me as a teacher. This was a great learning experience for our kids as they were able to earn success with their product. Even more important, they saw and learned from the other bands competing that day.”

In July, Mr. Bieniek was asked to be a Real Men Wear Pink Ambassador for the Making Strides Against Cancer Campaign. There are eight other Real Men ambassadors in the Twin Cities. Bieniek said he feels like a "mini" Real Man as other ambassadors are TV and media personalities, along with medical professionals and Minneapolis business men with large networks. When asked, Bieniek agreed to be an ambassador and take his students along on this journey Their campaign will conclude with a performance at US Bank Stadium on Saturday, October 15 during the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. Please join the campaign and donate to the Real Men Wear Pink campaign at lakevillesouthbands.com.

You can see the show at Lakeville South High School home football games on Sept. 23, 30 and October 19. You can also hear their show at their Indoor Marching Band Concert on October 18 on the LSHS auditorium stage.

We say, well done Lakeville South Marching Cougars, well done.