It starts in early July and ends in late June. It involves great precision and discipline. High school marching band can be a full time gig for any music student that chooses to dedicate their life to this activity. High school marching band has three different seasons that a high school music student can participate in, fall, winter, and parade.…
It was back about a year ago when it happened, a month after the 8th grade dance. But first let me introduce myself I’m Raylene Johnson former friend of Aubrey Stones and this is her story.…
I am a leader. I have all the qualities that make a great leader, but I was not born this way.Experiences and how someone reacts to those experiences are what truly make a leader. One of the most influential experiences I have gone through is called the Lebanon High School Marching Band. I am certain that I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for marching band. Before coming to high school I already had leadership qualities, but band helped bring all those great qualities together and helped me get past my two major flaws: my lack of self-confidence and the fact that I was probably one of the shyest people you would EVER meet. When I joined marching band, I spent most of my waking hours sweating and suffering alongside wonderful people that I longed to…
Rachmaninoff stated, “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” Essential to all nationalities, generations, and people, music can make your soul soar, put you to sleep, or bring you to your knees in tears. All din and clamor goes silent. Every eye is riveted on the conductor. The baton lifts. Suddenly, in a myriad of melodies, harmonies, timbre, and texture, a whole new realm is unraveled. The extraordinary feeling of unwinding and renewing your mind by listening to the flow of music is inexpressible. Nothing compares.…
There have been numerous times in my life where I’ve failed at something but there was one specific failure that really opened my eyes to what it really meant to fail. When I was in high school, I was in the band, my instrument of choice was the saxophone. While in the band it is required that you learn your sheet music before you attend any school event. This is to ensure that everyone is doing their absolute best and will make cuts to perform in every function the band was asked to participate. As I mentioned earlier, I played the saxophone and had always made cuts until one day our band instructor issued out new music. Being the person I am, I glanced at the music and said “I see no need for me to practice this, it’s so simple”. Later that…
Influence, the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. There is a good chance that most of us have been influenced by someone or something throughout our lifetime. We all offer the ability to influence, and to be influenced. In 2011 when I joined my school's marching band, I did not realize the influence it would have on my life by teaching me teamwork, self-discipline, time management, and dedication.…
Sweat drizzles down my skin as it exits my pores trying to cool my heated body. The blood rushes through my veins pumping blood with the consistent pounding of my heart. Every breath, every second, every action, every thought; I am standing where everything counts. Artificial turf and grass crumpled beneath my torn black shoes and the thick silence only cut by the timed chants from afar. This is the last moment I will stand here for this reason. This is the last moment I will stand here with my family. This is the last moment of my marching band career. Many will say that this was a special group of kids, others will say that this year was a show that was made to make it. I, on the other hand, will say that this was because of seven years of dedication.…
As somebody who always had trouble fitting in in school, it was really hard to find a place of which I could be a part of. I joined band in middle school, and I enjoyed playing greatly, even if I wasn’t the most talented saxophone player in the program. I wouldn’t say I was passionate about it at the time, but band certainly was a fun and [something] experience, learning to play music with my friends. Through my three years of middle school at Southeast Bulloch, I travelled from second-to-last chair placement in 6th grade to 2nd chair placement in 8th grade. For a lonely, shy middle schooler, it meant a lot to me to have an activity I was good…
My Jr High choir teacher, Mrs. Bradbury, was the most challenging teacher I have ever had. She would never cut the choir a break, and never stopped pushing us to be our best; “I can’t” was not acceptable to her. I hated her with every fiber of my being, and every time she spoke all I wanted to do was sew her lips together. It wasn’t until the beginning of ninth grade when I realized she was amazing. Once I let my guard down, we instantly connected. Recognizing how much I loved to sing and becoming one of the top singers in my choir was thanks to her. I started working for hours every day on my songs, staying late after class for help, and going to voice lessons. I excelled exponentially and Mrs. Bradbury noticed it.…
I believe that I exhibit leadership skills in school, both in class and on the hockey field, which has helped further develop my organizational and leadership skills. Preparatory school has marked a few of my significant leadership roles, such as being voted class representative for three years, being picked as a library prefect in year four, and finally chosen by teachers to a prefect in year eight. I have also been captain and co-captain of several netball, hockey and rounders teams. I believe that these leadership roles provided a great platform for me to continue to nurture my leadership skills. In addition, I believe that my leadership skills are not just exhibited in school, but also in Church.…
The first time I was ever daunted sitting at a drum kit, was at my first gig with my high school jazz ensemble during my freshman year. It was the night of the Presidents Circle Dinner, an event dedicated to the individuals who donated a substantial amount of money to my school. All the people I had to impress. Not only was I new to playing in front of a crowd but I was also new to playing jazz itself. During the performance of C Jam Blues, the band director pointed at me, hinting that I, the second string drummer, would be taking the next solo. The solo I played that night was the worst bit of drumming I have ever done. After that performance, i realized that the road ahead of me was going to be long and hard.…
School of Rock. Seeing those words on my calendar made me dread the weeks to come. My parents had signed me up for an activity, once again, without asking my opinion first. My friends would be going, but that didn’t make it sound better. I would be put in a band with people I didn't know. I’d always left being outgoing and meeting new people for my friends to take care of, but this week it seemed to be on my to-do list.…
When I first started marching band during the summer going into my freshman year, I didn’t expect to fall in love with it. Freshmen percussionists at my high school are required to be in the front ensemble their first year and couldn’t be in the drumline until their sophomore year. Knowing this, I thought of the upcoming marching season as just a waste of time because I wanted to be in the drumline and I would never want to stay in the front ensemble beyond my freshmen year. Although I wasn’t expecting much, I was still hopeful going into the first day of summer band.…
However, my leadership roles did not cease after that. At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, I had gone through an audition process to become the Drum Major for the Liberty High School Marching Band. This process included: receiving signatures of nomination from peers, attending scheduled workshops teaching how to lead the band, a teaching evaluation, a parade route evaluation, submitting a formal application essay and a leadership questions form, receiving a letter of recommendation, and an…
“Consistency!” Paul, Adam, and Mr. Dietrich loved to scream this word at us. Band camp was probably the best and the worst days of my life but I would go through it all over again if given the chance. There were times when Paul would get so frustrated with the front ensemble that he would just leave without saying when he would be back or not and whenever he did that it was a bit of a saddening realization. It wasn’t just Paul that got mad like this Adam got just as mad and when Dietrich would get mad like that, it was time to duck and cover. What all of this made me realize though was that practicing is the only thing that will help you get good and sheer talent is never enough. I was dumb enough to ever think that my talent and family history in fine arts was going to cut it. Now though I can say that practice makes perfect and practice is the only thing to make perfect.…