ALTON - A sizable crowd gathered at the Alton High School football field to watch a preview of the Marching 100 band’s season.
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On Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, families, administrators and friends of the Alton Community Unit School District #11 braved the heat for a preview of the band’s halftime show. Matt Chesner, the high school band director, noted that students have been attending band camp for the past two weeks and were eager to show off what they had learned. Chesner encouraged the community to admire the students’ talent and hard work.
“I want them to see the kids showing off. That’s what I want them to see first. I want them to see that these kids are incredibly talented, incredibly hardworking,” Chesner said. “We’re grateful that they are dedicated to creating music and creating art when they come to school every day. It’s a really good reason to get out of bed every day.”
Chesner expressed his appreciation for Assistant Band Director Chuck Willard, as well as the Alton Band and Orchestra Builders organization and President Daniel Nosce. All of these people — and many “band parents” — have come together to support the students.
This year’s drum majors are seniors Haley Baum and Bella Paynic and sophomore Jacob Cato. Chesner commended the “outstanding kids” who are leading the Marching 100.
“We have a really awesome student leadership team,” he said. “My favorite thing was this morning. Man, it’s day 10. We’re all exhausted. We’ve been doing this for 11 hours a day for two weeks. And our drum majors were just bringing the hype. They’re trying to bring everybody out of their shells. They were bringing all the positivity so that we could get there and give you the performance that you saw today. It comes from the students.”
During the preview on Aug. 7, the Marching 100 played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and Alton High School’s fight song. They also performed the first half of their halftime show.
Chesner and his band are especially excited about this year’s halftime show, which is themed “Aurora Awakes.” He explained that this theme takes the show beyond Top 40 songs.
“When I was growing up 20-something years ago, it was a little bit more about the rock tunes and the same type of tunes you might hear in the bleachers to give hype for the football game, which is all good,” he said. “But nowadays, we’re kind of trying to tell a story on the field.”
The show starts with the piece “Aurora Awakes” by John Mackey, arranged by Shannon Jacobs, and then melds into “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay. In addition to the music, there will be props on the field that aim to create an aurora effect. The color guard will also wear uniforms that look like the night sky.
“I want us to paint the aurora across the field with the show design, with the way they’re playing, whether it’s more lyrically and smoother or whether it’s these shimmers that are happening in the woodwinds that kind of create the gleaming stars,” Chesner said. “Hopefully, we’re creating that tableau on the field that the audience can enjoy and appreciate.”
As the band prepares to start their season, Chesner reminds the community they can support Alton’s music program year-round. He encourages people to come out to the football and basketball games to hear them play, but also to support them at marching band competitions throughout the region. The band and orchestra also have several concerts throughout the season that you can attend.
“Just come and be a part of this community, this organization that is putting on art and creating moments for our community,” Chesner said.
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