On Nov. 2, Riordan’s band performed a field show for a home football game. At the tailgate, they marched down the 50-yard line and got into formation for the top of the show.
“It’s like theater meets band, you dress up and you do wonky stuff,” as George Gamara ’26 described field shows.
Throughout their setlist, they simultaneously moved into different geometric shapes, such as triangles, curves, and most notably, the Riordan “R” and the number “75” to commemorate the school’s 75th anniversary.
The last time Riordan had a field show was back in the fall of 1997, when the field was still covered in natural grass and the band wore white and gold.
“We had a lot of raucous energy,” joked Michael Vezzali-Pascual ’88, English instructor and former band member. “You guys are definitely more polished players.”
The band director in 1997, Steven Thompson, wanted the students to perform a halftime show for a football game.
“This could be something that we do […] that no one else is doing and in the city, no one was doing it at the time” is how Thompson described his thought process behind the first field show. The band marched in lines and formed an “R” shape, similar to the one they did this year.
Riordan alumnus and former band member Dr. Claiborne Childs ’98 said, “Considering the band prior to that could barely get through playing the national anthem, this felt like an accomplishment.”
In preparation for the most recent show, the band practiced for 30 minutes every Wednesday on the field.
“Six weeks. It took six weeks from beginning to end to put together,” stated the band director, Lance Ohnmeiss.
In the future, the band hopes to compete in field shows against other schools.
Ohnmeiss said, “We’ve been moving towards a field model for about five years since I started at Riordan. So it’s something that we can go and move into competitively.”
The other performances, such as parade, are still here to stay. “When Mr. O or anyone else talks about us transitioning into becoming a field show band, it just means that we’re adding onto something we’re doing,” said Drum Major Josh Greenbaum ’25.
Back in 1997, the band’s director, Steven Thompson, wanted the students to perform a halftime show for a football game.
“Mr. Thompson was our band director at the time and I just remember him being excited,” said counselor David Lin ’99.
Of the students in the band interviewed, most of them looked forward to continuing doing field shows.
“I’d love to do field shows,” said Assistant Drum Major Dylan Dubriwny ’26, “field shows are super fun.”
