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The Band Reporter |
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As we entered the second half of August, the new members of the John F. Kennedy Memorial High School Marching Mustangs grew nervous and anxious for band camp to commence. Meanwhile, upper-classmen became filled with excitement and anticipation for the new marching season. When it was announced that the band would be playing the music from Pirates of the Caribbean as the show this year, the musicians knew it would be another great year, but only if the band as a whole worked hard, stayed focus, and listened carefully to instructions given out by Mr. Hunt, Mr. Glick, Mrs. Connolly, and new drum major Zyril Carilo. For returning members of the marching band, the beginning of band camp means explaining various commands given out by Zyril, who is poised to rise to the challenge of being the youngest drum major the school has had for quite some time. For new members, the beginning of band camp means trying to stay determined on learning everything necessary, such as how to stand at attention and how to march correctly. As usual, band camp began with the section leaders being named, and important instructions given out by director Mr. Hunt about what the plan is for the first day. The band was then moved into the band room, so music could be passed out and rehearsed. After sight-reading the first two songs of this year’s show, the band was moved to the practice field on the other side of the school to practice basic marching skills. Although marching skills seemed to be a difficult concept for the new members to grasp, they seemed confident that with some help from their section leaders, they would gain experience as band camp continued. At the end of the first day, each musician in the band now had music to practice and memorize when they returned home, so that the band could begin working on the drill as soon as possible. The first-year members’ newly acquired marching skills were put to use for the first time when the band practiced marching in a parade form, and working on drill practicing. A matching game know as “drill-down” was played on the practice filed to determine who the best marcher in the band is. The rules are simple: make a mistake and you’re out, last marcher remaining is deemed the winner and awarded five dollars from Mr. Hunt's wallet! As Zyril called out commands, more and more members were called out for making mistakes. Eventually, the final two marchers were Zshamani Loyal, and Evan Kulick. Another series of commands was given out by the drum major, and in the end, freshman Evan Kulick was the winner. Evan’s clarinet section and freshman classmates were proud of him and congratulated this year’s winner as Mr. Hunt handed him the five dollars. The next few days of band camp were full of rigor
and practice as the band strived to learn as much of the drill as
possible. On Wednesday, the band finished learning the drill for the
first song of the show. However, band camp is not over yet, there is
still one more day remaining. Although there is an annual party
scheduled for the end of band camp, they must stay on track and continue
to practice the drill and memorize the music for the show, as well as
God Bless America and Celebration for the Miss America Parade in
September. Only then can they enjoy the party. As band camp concludes,
it looks like this year’s band has the potential to successfully make
this another award-winning year for the Marching Mustangs.
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