By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
When Orange Crush first stepped out at a basketball game seven years ago, the Burlington High School take on a “pep band” was, in the words of co-director Ron Pedersen, “pretty dorky.”
Seven years later, after numerous gigs within the school and outside of it – including ChocolateFest and Markstock to benefit Love Inc. – the much-loved pep band is coming to the end of its time.
With numerous members graduated or graduating, and the high school band director no longer a part of the band, Pedersen and co-director Rod Stoughton announced to the group last week it would end this year.
The group loses Chandler Spiewak on electric bass and Nathan Nelson on baritone sax this year, and had lost members of its vocal group in the last two years.
“And there’s no one else at the high school to replace them,” Pedersen said, adding that the band lost four members last year.
Pedersen said he didn’t think anyone was “really shocked” when the announcement was made last week.
“But there were some tears and a couple of kids needed a hug,” he said.
The group will perform at ChocolateFest on Memorial Day – the last band on the main stage – for its final performance.
Pedersen retired in the last few years, and was helping with the group – and performing with it – along with middle school choir director Stoughton.
Students involved weren’t part of a class, or getting credit, and Pedersen felt that there wouldn’t be enough of a pool to draw from to fill the spots if the band continued.
“We weren’t a club, we weren’t a class,” Pedersen said. “We just used kids from Burlington High School.
“It’s a two-edged sword,” he added. “We weren’t really a school group. We really think Orange Crush was, educationally, a great thing.”
Over the past seven years, the band – which performed covers of everything from 70s hits to current pop tunes – gained quite the following. It was featured on Wisconsin Public Television in the past year, and performed well beyond the original scope of being a band for basketball games.
Pedersen said the students involved got the feel of a real band, with professional sound equipment and professional arraignments.
However, Pedersen hinted that perhaps the support was not always evident from those outside of the program.
“We just kind of felt administration should be acknowledging how a rare educational opportunity it was,” Pedersen said, adding that the basketball teams themselves supported them.
Pedersen said that the student commitment to the group was “amazing,” and that students seemed to enjoy the opportunity.
Pedersen also said the group will never say never.
“We’ve got all the music,” he explained. “The hard work is done.
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