The Macomb High School Marching Bomber Band is doing something this year to include more of the community. On the morning of Saturday, August 24th, the dynamic drumline and creative color guard will perform short marching demonstrations in three (3) different neighborhoods (Compton Park,  Meadowbrook, and S. Johnson / S. Randolph) in Macomb, between 9:45 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Band Booster parent volunteers will accompany student teams along the parade routes collecting donations as the drumline and color guard perform. These donations will be tabulated and the “winning neighborhood” will receive a personalized parade from the entire band and color guard through their streets at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7^th!  Look for a “Parade Today Here” sign in your neighborhood if yours is the winning neighborhood. All money collected will be used for the replacement of instruments and supplies. Donations can also be mailed to Macomb Band Boosters, PO Box 816 or dropped off at MHS (be sure to reference YOUR neighborhood with your donation).

The Marching Bomber Band would like to thank the entire community for their continued support and invite you to a concert on Saturday, September 7 at 5pm on the McDonough County courthouse lawn.

Band Director Doug Mattsey is excited for the event. “This is a wonderful start to the school year, band students have been practicing nearly daily since early August. This event is a way for them to play new music, wear their uniforms, and reach out to the community!”

Future performance dates and more information can be found on our website at www.macombbands.org

The schedule is as follows:

August 24

9:45 a.m. Demonstration and collection begins at Compton Park

10:30 a.m. Demonstration and collection begins at Meadowbrook

11:30 a.m. Demonstration and collection begins at S. Johnson/S. Randolph

September 7

3:30 p.m. Winning neighborhood receives full parade honors from entire band and color guard 5:00 p.m. Field show demonstration at McDonough County Courthouse lawn

Calling all boosters and band students; be sure to come out and catch Post 6 Big Band of Macomb, Illinois for their last performance of the season on April 26th. https://www.facebook.com/post6bigband/

The community was treated to classic holiday music  performed by the MHS Brass and Woodwind Ensembles lead by HS Band Director Doug Mattsey at the Western Illinois Museum for the 24th Annual Dickens on the Square Friday evening, December 1. 

Select MHS students attended the all-day West Central Conference Music Festival at WIU, ending with an evening concert performance on November 15, 2018. Those participating were Sanjana Babu, Clara Barclay, Carter Benson, Olivia Bishop, Rachel Bosworth, Richard Engel, Halle Evans, Sasha Grigortsuk, Lucy Gruidl, Breanna Hall, Lily Mansfield, Samantha Mattsey, Hannah Murray, Breanna Rhoads, Hannah Robinson, Karem Tasdan, Ben Walker, Micaela Windsor and Gabe Zahnle.

Congratulations to the MHS band students who performed at the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA)  District IV Concert Festival held November 3 at WIU.  Macomb was well represented in the Senior Band and Senior Orchestra by these amazing young musicians:  Aleksandra Grigortsuk, Gibson Blankenship, Richard Engel, Halle Evans, Jamie Im, Hannah Robinson, Lily Mansfield, Samantha Mattsey, Carter Benson, Brooks Wallace, Hannah Murray and Joey Trost.  Additionally, Bennett Walker will be performing for the District IV Jazz Festival to be held at Glenwood HS on November 17.  

The Macomb High School Marching Bomber Band won awards at two competitions on Saturday, October 20, including winning the Dale F. Hopper Small School Division Grand Champion Award at the Western Illinois University Marching Band Classic. The band’s marathon day started with a bus ride to Normal at 3 a.m. for the Illinois State University Marching Band Championships and finished on cold, windy Hanson Field at 9:30 p.m.

The day began and ended in triumph as the band first won the award in their class for Outstanding Musical Performance at Illinois State. At WIU, the band won first place for class 2A and was named the Grand Champion for classes 1A and 2A. In addition, the band swept the caption awards in class 2A, including Best Winds/Instruments, Best Percussion, Best Auxilary/ Color Guard and Best Drum Majors.

Section Leaders are Sasha Grigortsuk, Breanna Rhoads, Lily Mansfield, Kerem Tasdan, Carter Benson, Anabelle Clark, Hannah Murray, Clara Barclay, Megan Redding, Madeline Weiss, Marc Musser, Rachel Bosworth, Joe Burkholder, Ben Walker, Richard Engel, Leslie Eutsler, Addison Fowler, and Lily Dunsworth.