From their detailed halftime shows to their songs in the stands, the RHS Marching Band has always been a staple for football games. This year, the band is incorporating a new theme into this season’s halftime show inspired by the iconic Vincent Van Gogh painting A Starry Night.

“This is a new style for us, it gives us something new to work on, we kinda thought that it would fit with the group we have this year, [the theme] would give us an opportunity to really have a good general effects show, which is what we’re going for this year.” director of bands, Christopher Revett said.

“We’re trying to put a bunch of big panels out on the field that look like the painting-we’re basically making the field look like the painting.” Revett said.

While last year’s theme was straight-forward and story-based, this year’s theme focuses on the interpretive aspect of the painting, and how it can be portrayed through music.

The show also experiments with new concepts for the band. It contains “a lot of little things that we haven’t done in the past, like features and solos of different instruments.” Said Sam Garcia (’20).

“In past years we’ve done a theme that was a time period or something like that or based off an actual piece of music, when right now, it’s based off of something you can visually see and portray that in the music.”  Everett McManamy (’19) said.

The visual aspects of the show are also important to watch. “Look at the whole field, experience it from a visual standpoint, and see how the music relates to it.” said Revett.

With their new visual and auditory features, the marching band hopes this year’s halftime performances will be a thoughtful and expressive experience.

“It is a little bit more intellectual, and a reflection of the painting itself. It just comes down to giving the students a diverse experience.” Revett said.