Under the late-summer sun, the Mountain Brook High School marching band is already hard at work — piecing together drills, harmonies and one of its most ambitious halftime shows yet.

With football season underway and competitions on the horizon, the Spartan band is deep into fall prep. Students are balancing long rehearsals, rising expectations and a show that blends modern Broadway hits with something rare for a high school program — live vocal performance. At the heart of it all are student leaders such as senior drum major Ada Dapkus, who said the show only works when every piece comes together.

“We want to not only create a really great performance, but we want it to sound really cool,” Dapkus said. “I think having all of the pieces come together from the many different aspects of th

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