THE ECHO

By Alaina Moon // Reporter

After two years of defending the Grand Nationals Championship trophy, the Avon Marching Black and Gold is back again.

Every year, the design team presents a brand-new show, and this year is no different. On the band’s Community Day, dressed in blue T-shirts, they presented Axiom. Matt Harloff, one of the band directors, said there is excitement from both the staff and students for the upcoming show season.

“I see the staff get excited about it. I see the design team get excited about it. The students are doing great. I’m looking forward to it,” said Harloff.

The story of Axiom’s name comes from its song, and the design team determined to play it. Harloff said that, in the terms of the design team, he believes they coined the name from two pieces of music.

“There’s music from the movie WALL-E, and there’s a track called The Axiom. Then, there’s a great piece called Hymn of Acxiom,” Harloff said. “I think that’s where they ended up with the name Axiom.”

However, it is not solely the music that created the show. Going back a few months, Avon does not do the fall season of marching band alone, but the winter season as well. The 2025 Indoor Winds show was titled Raise The Roof, and in that show, they used coil props.

Harloff said those props “motivated Daniel [Wiles], Michael Townsend, Vince Oliver, and Richard [Hinshaw] to say, ‘What else can we do with this effect?’”

To prepare for the season, they have been practicing marching, dancing, and music for months. The full show is not out yet, but Harloff said they have about five minutes right now, or Parts One and Two, that they plan to perform at their first upcoming competition.

“Next Saturday, a week from this Saturday, Sept. 6, we will be at Westfield,” Harloff said.