A malfunctioning microphone can lead to a miscommunication or a potentially bad performance. During a rehearsal preparing for the halftime show at Central Washington University’s Homecoming game, a microphone malfunction showed the tenacity which Director of Bands Lewis Norfleet brings to CWU’s marching band.

At the start of practice, Norfleet wanted to speak to the group about what they would be covering during the 90-minute rehearsal In order for Norfleet to better communicate with the group, student-staff members of the marching band connected a microphone into the main speakers, while junior Drum Major Sascha Burckhardt handed it to Norfleet.

After realizing that no sound came out, Norfleet gave Burckhardt a jarring look, to which he responded by frantically searching for another microphone. Fifteen minutes of sound work later and Norfleet had a live microphone. Burckhardt didn’t seem to remember the interaction.

“Oh yeah, the [microphone] thing,” said Burckhardt, a music performance and education double major. “The thing about Norfleet is that he gives you 110 percent of himself, sometimes a little less of him would work, but he gives you 110 percent on everything. He doesn’t let anything go by the wayside, he knows what he wants [from the band] and he knows how to get it.”

Norfleet, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oregon, succeeded Larry Gookin as director of bands last year. Gookin had served as director of bands for 34 years, so a change in leadership sent ripples through the whole program.

“In years past the marching band was always good, but this has been something really different,” Burckhardt said. “The arrangements Norfleet does, how much better the group sounds, how the drill is different. The effort is there now, and people notice.”

Norfleet taught high school band in Oregon and Washington from 2002 to 2013. Previously, he worked at Oregon State University from 1997 to 2002, serving as the director of athletic bands. However, Norfleet doesn’t view building the marching band as a reason for him coming to CWU.

“One of the strengths of the program here is that it’s a comprehensive music school,” Norfleet said. “Not just one thing is good: the jazz is incredible, the choirs are great…the marching band is only one aspect of the program here. We’re really fortunate.”

This sentiment is shared by everyone involved with the marching band, including non-majors who play in the music program for their own reasons, such as sophomore english education major Jack Harry.

“I took a year off playing trumpet last year and really regret that,” Harry said. “I’m here trying get back into playing and having fun. I miss it; that’s why I’m doing marching band. [Music] is one of the main reasons I came here. I went to [CWU’s] Wind Fest my senior year, trying to decide where to go. I heard the performances here and felt I had to come here.”

Though marching band is not a big part of the Music Department’s curriculum — taking a backseat to concert bands, music theory and history, jazz band and choirs — this year, for Homecoming, the marching band performed songs by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson, The Chainsmokers and Snarky Puppy. The arrangements the group used were written by Norfleet. He has put effort into making the program enjoyable for the audience and the musicians in the group.

“We’ve tried to create a more modern sound,” Norfleet said. “We want to modernize the sound [and] do things that are current and creative. We [give microphones to] a lot of soloists, we’re featuring a vocalist, last year we had someone do some rapping over the band. We’re trying to have fun with it and highlight the strengths, which are the great players.”

While the band exclusively plays arrangements written by Norfleet, the product on the field is coordinated by students for the students. Hannah Mowry, a junior music performance and education double major, thinks that the direction of the band has been a welcome addition to her student experience.

“Norfleet really kicked things into gear; he changed the culture of the program,” Mowry, who serves as one of the show’s two program coordinators, said. “We do all the shows ourselves. It’s an incredible product — he’s such a skilled arranger and writer. He has an eye and ear for this kind of stuff.”

The improved performance on the football field by CWU’s football team this year (5-2 record on the season) has been matched by the marching band, adds to the experience of attending football games at Tomlinson Stadium.

“We have this ridiculous version of the National Anthem, and it almost brings me to tears every time I hear it,” Burckhardt said. “After the anthem, I have people come to me and say it was their favorite part of the entire game. ‘I’ve never felt that way before during the anthem,’ they say. It’s one of our most important interactions with the community, hardly anyone that isn’t a music major goes to the Wind Ensemble’s concerts. As important as they are in our musical training, this is our real community outreach. Over the last couple of years, it’s only gotten better.”