General

When music, marching band
and mechanical engineering meet

Michal Lisowyj graduated high school on a Saturday and flew to California two days later for a life-changing musical mission.

Years before he became a senior renewable energy specialist at OPPD, Lisowyj (pronounced lee-so-vay) toured the country and slept on gym floors for the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, a world-class, award-winning marching band team.

Two decades later, the 43-year-old is putting his musical, marching and mechanical engineering talents to work as a Millard West High School marching band coach – and a lot has changed.

Marching bands

Lisowyj started piano lessons in first grade. In fifth grade, he discovered the trumpet, an instrument he would play through middle and high school marching bands.

“I just grew to love doing it,” he said. “It’s one of those things that’s a lifelong passion.”

As a student at Millard West High School, Lisowyj and his band friends watched Drum Corps International teams perform on PBS. Drum Corps was the big time, the major league of marching bands. Everything about it – the competition, the creativity, the teamwork – amazed them.

The corps was highly selective. Every year, 20 to 30 young brass players might audition for a single spot in the ensemble. For percussion spots, the odds were closer to 100 to one for one spot.

“We just thought it was the coolest thing, we wanted to be like them,” Lisowyj said.

Lisowyj auditioned for a Drum Corps team in Madison, Wisconsin, with a prepared music and marching piece. The band picked him as an alternate.

Making the cut

Then came a call from the Concord Blue Devils, a California-based team. The Blue Devils were legendary, with 40 years among the top five Drum Corps groups and nine world championships at the time (now, they have a record 21).

Lisowyj sent a VHS audition tape. A few days later, his phone rang again. If he could get to California before Memorial Day, he’d have a spot with the Blue Devils.

“I graduated from high school on a Saturday,” Lisowyj said. “By Monday, I was out in California.”

The Blue Devils took him from coast to coast and 30 states. From 1999 to 2003, Lisowyj played at the Citrus Bowl in Florida, Giants Stadium in New Jersey and countless high school and college stadiums in front of hundreds of thousands of people and live television audiences.

In 2000, he toured Europe for a month and slept in an old German mansion. His team won the Drum Corps International World Championship twice during his time as a member.

With the prestige came high expectations: A rigorous schedule. Music played perfectly. Formations and movements aligned seamlessly. Constant practice from the moment you woke up until you went to sleep.

“We’re talking about precision to the inch,” Lisowyj said. “Everything had to be perfect. You couldn’t be on autopilot.”

Joining the Huskers

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lisowyj played with the Cornhusker Marching Band. Music offered a nice “brain break” from his engineering and science courses.

“Playing music enables you to use your brain differently than you would while in math, physics and engineering classes,” he said.

Practices started early and prepared him for the rest of the day. Every week, the band memorized a different routine.

“It’s not something you can put on the back burner,” Lisowyj said. “You’re performing in front of thousands of people in a week, and it needs to be at a high level.”

Nothing beat the incredible noise and energy of football Saturdays at Memorial Stadium.

There were some odd moments, as well. During Lisowyj’s final year with the Cornhusker Marching Band, the reality show “Tommy Lee Goes to College” came to UNL’s campus. Rock star Tommy Lee joined the band for a week.

“It was fun having him around,” Lisowyj said. “But as you can probably guess, it was all staged and fake.”

Lisowyj still texts with former Blue Devils bandmates in Colorado, California and Florida. He hasn’t seen them in person in over 20 years, but they talk football and give each other a hard time when someone’s home team loses.

Around Omaha, Lisowyj sees fellow former members of the Cornhusker Marching Band, including OPPD’s Eric BenSalah, an energy consultant who also played on a Drum Corps team.

‘Unique experience’

BenSalah started playing drums his sophomore year of high school and auditioned for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps in Dubuque, Iowa, his junior year. He got the chance to apply as a cymbal player, a skill he had to teach himself over a weekend.

A few days later, the Colts invited him to a second tryout. BenSalah returned and gave it everything he had for one of five spots. After seeing his work ethic, the Colts expanded the line to six so they could take him.

BenSalah kept that passion going throughout his tour, with 10- to 14-hour daily practices.

“It really just solidified how much I loved marching,” BenSalah said. “It’s just such a unique experience. It was hard work. But when you get done, everybody’s in tip-top shape.”

The challenge showed him what he could achieve. It also forged a bond with other Drum Corps players, no matter what team.

“You have someone who has gone through this before, at the highest level,” BenSalah said. “That’s why I really like to work with Mike. I know we can trust him with anything.”

BenSalah joined the Husker drum line and found a passion for writing music. He played at the 2002 Rose Bowl.

“I just loved playing so much,” he said. “I played drums all the time, but I really enjoyed playing drum line.”

The next generation

Lisowyj teaches Millard West High School band members in his free time. But marching is different now.

Performances are elaborate productions with choreographed dancing, props, fog machines and backdrops. Last year, Millard West’s show featured a locomotive with lights and railroad tracks. This year, it was movable pillars with gates and strobes. Lisowyj used his engineering background to design pillar lights and a smoke machine from a trash can.

“Mike helps come up with ideas for special effects that the band can use,” said Byron Braasch, the band’s program coordinator. “We’re able do some creative things.”

Braasch said Lisowyj helps students “clean up” their routines to move seamlessly, and on time, to the right positions without missing a beat.

“The Drum Corps does that at the highest, world-class level, so all of those experiences help,” Braasch said. “He’s a great asset to the program. I think he enjoys working with students and seeing how far we can take them.”

Lisowyj is well-liked among students but maintains high expectations, said Ryan Stigge, a Millard West band dad and OPPD’s manager of generation asset management.

Stigge said the Millard West band isn’t the biggest among its peers but holds its own well. The band has notched some major accomplishments this year, including placing in the top ten in the Bands of America regional competition.

“He gets a lot of out of those kids, which I think is a testament to him having those high expectations without making them dislike him,” Stigge said. “That’s a unique skillset when you’re working with teenagers.”

For Lisowyj, the fun part is watching new, inexperienced students grow into a coordinated team.

“You’re gaining career and life skills and resilience and learning how to be excellent at something,” he said.

Work at OPPD

At OPPD, Lisowyj plays a pivotal role in OPPD’s efforts to secure 1.5 gigawatts of renewable generation for customers. That includes battery storage technology, solar racking systems, wind turbines with newly designed blades, long duration energy storage and state-of-the-art solar arrays. He’s keeping watch on nuclear technology, as well, and works with energy vendors and national energy consortiums.

“I keep track of and research any new technology that might work for OPPD down the road so that we’re ready,” he said. “That’s the fun part.”

Lisowyj also supports the technical side of OPPD’s renewable contracts, such as Platteview Solar, a project owned and operated by AES Corporation.

His wife, Linsey, helps teach members of the color guard at Millard West. They met when Lisowyj returned there to join the marching band staff. Eventually, he hopes his own kids, ages 7 and 10, will learn to play an instrument, spin a flag or join a team that builds character through determination, hard work and excellence.