Thursday Interlude: Saturday Night Lights

And I do mean lights. Pardon the glare.
Photos by RF

Afternoon all. Where has this day gone? I am in the middle of my monthly time warp where I work on the online version of November Music Educators Journal and at the same time conducting interviews and writing stories for December Teaching Music. Fun stuff, but due to juggling, I will keep my entry short.


I did want to share you with you a really cool experience I has last weekend. On Saturday I spent a good part of my evening listening to some great high school bands, viewing some great spectacle and marveling at some mighty fine pit crew work. Pit crews? Not the kind where a bunch of guys swarm a NASCAR, pop off a blown tire or fill a thirsty tank.

No, these pit crews deftly loaded equipment trailers or equipment, assembled (and unassembled) the directors stand, and hauled equipment on/off the field for their various bands. Shortly after pit crews swarmed on the field, a band stood at the ready awaiting a downbeat from drum majors. Band boosters. can't live without them.

The occasion was the 11th Virginia's Showcase of Bands of the U.S. Scholastic Band Association, which was held at Herndon (Va.) High School. The Pride of Herndon Band hosted the event on its home field. Bands from throughout Virginia and a few from Maryland participated.

The music was great, ranging from spy music from James Bond and Austin Powers movies, to patriotic to Moroccan to Ray Charles, the footwork was intricate and the drum corps members expertly swirled their flags. It was obvious that weeks of hard work was on display.

The long view at Virginia's Showcase of Bands on Sept. 29.

As I watched, I talked to a number of proud parents attested to that. One beaming mom told me that she was seeing the full program after seeing her daughters, one playing flute, the other tuba. "They sound so great," she said. "All of those rehearsals paid off," she added.

Later, I bumped into MENC member and band director Richard Purvis of York High School in Yorktown, VA. Yorktown is near Williamsburg, Virginia. His band had performed earlier and he was watching the end of the show.

He acknowledged that performances like these are a lot of work, but he said he and his students enjoy seeing how they stack up to other bands.

At the Band Showcase drum majors took to the field to await the judging results which resulted in ginormous trophies for bands with the highest scores.

I will leave you with one more thing. Last Saturday morning I went out for breakfast with some friends, one of whom had just attended a high school renuion. She was in color guard and met up with some guard members she hadn't seen in years. It was a fun encounter for her.
Anyway, somehow the conversation wandered over to the link between music and other disicplines like science.

Later that day I listened to one of my favorite NPR Shows, Studio 360, which exmines and celebrates the arts. I heard an interview show host Kurt Andersen did with jazz legend Herbie Hancock in which they discussed the very same thing. Here is the link if you would like to listen in.

Buh Bye
Have a great holiday weekend.
RF