INTERVIEW: Barry Evans, Director of Bands at Topeka West High School

B Boyack of KBN: So, Mr. Evans, what inspired you to do your show this year?

Barry Evans: The Show this year we did, called "Step Right Up!" was a show that I just really enjoyed watching [with other bands], and there was a lot of fun things involved with it, and I thought the kids would really enjoy it and it would get a great crowd appeal.

Boyack: There were a lot of bands that did your opener, "Des Irae" from Mozart's Requiem, this year. What did you think of it and why do you think it is such a popular piece?

Evans: I thought they did a great job. They were all great arrangements and everyone did a great job. The beauty of Marching band is that you could take a song like "Des Irae" and make it into so many different things and do so many new cool and amazing Ideas, and I think that's a great thing to do.

Boyack: What about your concert band? What literature are you going to be playing for your upcoming concert?

Evans: We're actually taking a bowl trip to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL over winter break, so we're more focused on getting the bowl stuff ready, but we're probably doing a piece called "Continental Overture" by Johan DeMae.

Boyack: Thank you for your time. Good luck at the Outback Bowl.

Evans: Thank you.