Marching Band, SHS → Bittersweet
Yesterday was the last marching band competition of the year, and my last as Assistant Band Director. Four years ago I told the school district that I would do this for four years, and a quick check of the math shows this weekend to be my last one as an official member of the field marching band staff. To be honest, I cannot think of a better ending to this wild ride.
The students may tell you that they were disappointed with a fourth-place finish out of a field of eleven that were scheduled in our division. They may express frustration that the third-place band was only SIX ONE-HUNDREDTHS of a point ahead of us. They may wish that it had rained, which has always been a good omen for us, instead of being clear and mild for the first time in recent memory. What they did not experience, however, was the feeling of how amazing their final show of the season was to the audience.
Throughout this past season I have watched a rag-tag group of students running the gamut from alarmingly hyperactive to borderline catatonic come together as a unit and really execute on basics: dynamics, articulation, and (for the most part) marching in step. Their musicianship and showmanship came through in the end. They took music from West Side Story and brought out the feeling and passion impossible to convey merely through written notes on a page. When they stepped off the field afterwards, our percussion coach and I were both teared up with pride. We shared the conviction that, no matter what the final scores turned out to be, they knocked it out of the park.
They connected to the audience. And that is what music performance is all about.
I will definitely miss the hard work and great times found during marching season. I hope to continue to be a supporting member of the community as a session player, webmaster for the parent group, and perhaps other odd opportunities to help out that come along. In the meantime, there is Show Choir, Jazz Band, the musical, and a zillion other things between now and the end of the year. After June 2009, I know that these students will continue to grow as leaders and musicians and continue to make their community proud.