Green Bay Southwest High School alumna Elise Williams has experience performing at the annual GBAPS Marching Band Showcase. But this year, instead of donning blue and silver, she’ll be performing in black and yellow as a member of the UW Oshkosh Titan Thunder Marching Band.
The UW Oshkosh marching band is performing in addition to East, Preble, Southwest and West High Schools at the 11th annual event on October 5.
So what does it mean to Elise to come back to Southwest as a Titan? It means she’s coming home.
“Oh, I’m just in awe and amazed,” Williams said. “I've been trying to get our band to attend this high school band showcase, and the fact that we’re going not just to the Showcase, but that it happens to be at Southwest this year - it's going to be so cool coming home.”
Plus, for Willams, it’s a family affair. As a 2022 Southwest graduate, not only is she still close to some of the current students, but her sister will also be performing as a part of the Southwest marching band.
While at Southwest, Williams was heavily involved in extracurricular activities: marching band and color guard, the musical, show choir, jazz band, National Honor Society, and she was senior class president.
“I was definitely very involved,” Williams chuckled as she rattled off the long list of activities. “People joked I should just sleep in my band locker because I basically lived there.”
She took advantage of all the music programs that Southwest had to offer, which started her on a path to her future career. Williams said the opportunities at Southwest, including the Marching Band Showcase helped solidify that she wanted to be a high school band or orchestra teacher.
“I loved the Showcase, just coming together, meeting people from the other schools, watching their shows,” Williams said. “It was cool to see it come together. It made me really connect with marching band and fall in love with it. It’s probably a pretty big reason I want to be a high school band teacher.”
“Oh, I’m just in awe and amazed,” Williams said. "...It's going to be so cool coming home.”
Williams is pursuing a degree in Instrumental General Music Education and an American Sign Language Certification at UW Oshkosh, two subjects she gained a foundation in while at Southwest. When choosing a college to attend, a school with a marching band was key. Williams said one night in the spring of 2022, she was going through Wisconsin colleges to see which ones had marching bands. It just so happened that UW Oshkosh announced the creation of the Titan Thunder Marching Band that same spring.
Williams has two roles in the Titan Thunder Marching Band: color guard and playing the trombone. And, similar to when she attended Southwest, she’s fully dedicated to the UWO marching band.
“People are there for the sports,” Williams said. “They aren’t always there for us, but we do it. It’s fun and crazy and enjoyable. It’s so much fun.”
The 11th Annual Marching Band Showcase starts at 1 p.m. at Southwest High School’s Dahlin Family Stadium (1331 Packerland Drive). The program features the homecoming field shows of the marching bands. Gates open at 12:00 p.m., and admission is free. Donations of non-perishable items are being collected for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
Elise Williams and Southwest color guard at the Green Bay Holiday Parade while in high school. (Photo provided by Elise Williams)
Elise Williams performing with the Southwest Marching Band. Williams is seen waving, second from the left in the front row. (Photo provided by Elise Williams)
Elise Williams while in Southwest band uniform and holding color guard flag. (Photo provided by Elise Williams)
Elise Williams in her UWO band uniform and holding her trombone. (Photo provided by Elise Williams/UW Oshkosh)
Elise Williams and fellow color guard performers at UWO. Williams is forth from the left, front. (Photo provided by Elise Williams/UW Oshkosh)
Elise Williams and fellow UW Oshkosh trombone players stand on the field at Titan Stadium. Williams is third from the left. (Photo provided by Elise Willaims/UW Oshkosh)
The UW Oshkosh Titan Thunder Marching Band fills the stands at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wis.