Meet Leanna Begley

Leanna Begley of Lebanon, Ky., has two goals as field commander of the 2011-12 Blue Raider Marching Band: earn a 4.0 grade point average as an accounting major and be the kind of field commander "everyone looks up to." A flutist by training, she also plays in the LWC Concert Band.

Why did you want to be LWC field commander?
BEGLEY: All through high school, I always wanted to be field commander. I never got that chance, and I felt like I could make a big influence on the college level if I got that opportunity.

What do you like most about being in the Blue Raider Marching Band?
BEGLEY: I like the family. You meet so many good people and a lot of cool friends. It's a really fun atmosphere to be around. It's exciting. We have all of our little cheers we do, and we try to get the crowd involved in our cheers and little ditties that we play.

What's the hardest part of a field commander's job?
BEGLEY: Staying on beat. They are all relying on me to start correctly and end correctly -- and stay on tempo so we don't drag or fall apart.

What's your favorite song the band performs this year?
BEGLEY: "Everybody's Everything" (by Santana).

What's the one thing people don't realize that goes into a marching band?
BEGLEY: I don't think people realize how many hours of practice we put in, the diligence, hard work and the perseverance. … Mr. Allen wants us to be the best we can be, so I don't think people realize how much we have to practice.

What's your most memorable moment so far with the Blue Raider Marching Band?
BEGLEY: Last Saturday (Aug. 27) at Mark Twain, it was awesome. We had so many people tell us how well we did and how good we sounded. It was exciting just to hear all of the people screaming for us.

What's a song you would like to see incorporated into the band's repertoire?
BEGLEY: I like anything that's Journey-related. I really like that band. I really wish we would do a Journey show some day because I really like Journey.

What's your favorite song to play on flute?
BEGLEY: I really like Christmas music, so I really like to play "The First Noel."

More ...
Click here to read the preivew about the 2011-12 Blue Raider Marching Band.