Grant Longenbaugh, the solo trumpet in the Concord show, was considered the band’s best leader by students and directors alike. Grant wanted the Marching Minutemen to win a repeat state championship, and he wanted to leave a legacy of "servant leadership" in the band.

Grant Longenbaugh
senior
first trumpet, soloist

“Grant stayed after every practice now, working with the kids who were struggling. He’d started wearing the brim of his cowboy hat flipped up, and the face underneath it was lighter. His energy was out ahead of the others, and he needed to get them to rise to it. You wouldn’t know to look at him that he was the best person for the job. It was still hard to catch his gaze straight on, and rarer to catch the brilliance behind it. It wasn’t obvious how someone so quiet was the band’s best leader. But after a while you might notice the extra measure of respect that he was given, the focused attention when he did speak, and how, even when he tried to blend in, people’s eyes followed him. All of it made him seem like royalty there.”