Marching Into Band

        "I love band!" said much of the Montoursville Area High School marching band. With this sentiment shared among the members of the band, it is easy to see why there is so much excitement in the air when marching season comes around. From the good times to the bad times, there is a lot of components that goes into the marching band.

        When entering Memorial Stadium at Montoursville Area High School the first thing to notice is the noises going on. From the mumbling of people, the shouting of little kids as they run and play small games in the grass, to the people shouting trying to sell raffle tickets, it is very easy to get overstimulated. It is this beginning stage of the night that the marching band gets ready to perform their show. The band marches onto the field, dressed in their blue and gold band shirts with khaki pants or shorts. The banging of the percussion section and the blaring of the trumpets, saxophones, and trombones, the whistling of the flutes, combined with the roar of the crowd is deafening. The show goes smoothly, the twirling of the flags by the color guard, the swinging of plastic swords by the color guard as the band plays the Game of Thrones theme, and the dancing of the band as they play. The only noticeable error was one member not being in sync with the rest of the band during the forward kicks as the band shouts "We are...Montour!" The show ends and the crowd explodes into cheering and applause, along with the marching band of the opposing team, Troy.

The Marching Band during the dancing part of their show.
(Photo Credits to Steve Bagwell, Mayor of Montoursville)

The band's show goes well, showing that all their practice pays off. The amount of effort that goes into marching band, and the process, is intense. "We have a two weeklong band camp where we practice our music, learn to march, find our spots on the field and put our show together. We also do weekly practices for our color guard and percussion to help them stay up to date on what they need to learn," Mr. Morgan, the band director, replies. With band camp being two weeks long, for about 4 hours each day during the hottest part of the day the month before the school year starts, and the weekly practices for the band, it is easy to see why senior drum major Melody Rzeszotarski states that, "practices can be tough and draining from a technical standpoint sometimes." While the practices can be tough, they are worth it seeing that the band's performances go well.

(from left to right)
Flutist Ali Ravert, saxophonist Grace Barkauskas, and clarinetist Reagan Gonzalez
excited for the football game to start.

        In addition to practices, the band director also has an impact on how the band performs. The band director has to oversee and lead the practices and has to be a guide to the kids in band. This role falls into the hand of Mr. Morgan. It is easy to distinguish Mr. Morgan, from his blue and gold band jacket and khaki pants to his hair put into a man bun and his gel slicked beard along with his glasses, he is hard to miss. "When I started college, I was a chemistry major intending to focus on pharmaceutical research and development. Once I got to Lycoming College and experienced the music ensembles and classes i realized how much happier I was in the music building. I switched into the music education program at the end of my sophomore year, took double course loads for two years and still graduated on time. I knew then that if this was how passionate I was then I should definitely be doing this as my job!" Mr. Morgan exclaimed. With this knowledge, it makes sense why the band absolutely loves Mr. Morgan. Tuba player Jack Dietrich remarks that, "He is a phenomenal director. He has helped me learn new instruments as well as improve on others. Also, he has a great sense of humor." Other members, like saxophonist Grace Barkauskas and flutist Ali Ravert exclaim with smiles beaming on their faces their feelings on Mr. Morgan. "Mr. Morgan is by far my favorite teacher. He has helped me through so much with my mental health, and he has truly made me better as a musician and a person," Grace mentions. "Mr. Morgan is a really awesome director! He encourages and pushes me to participate in and try things that I'm not confident in, and he puts a lot of effort into the things that he does for our band which is amazing!" exclaims Ali, bobbing up and down, her smile growing bigger. Mr. Morgan exceeds in his role as director, keeping the band interested, and helping them through their problems.

        Furthermore, the music the band plays is also important. The music and its complexity determine how well the band plays. If it is too hard, the band could have some complications when practicing. "The show music is basically picked based on a theme I come up with and also dependent on what music is available for us to purchase. I inherited a lot of the stands tunes that the band plays, but also added a few songs this year that were from my high school and collegiate experience. A lot of directors program the music that they're familiar with and for me that was a crucial part of picking new music," Mr. Morgan explains, leaning on the fence waving his hand in the air. The process for picking music seems pretty straightforward, unfortunately it could lead to some members feeling unrest. "I enjoy most of it, but there are just a few I feel are selected for either personal value or caters to one section and not the whole band," Jack Dietrich comments, talking with his hands as much as his words. Of course, picking what kind of music to play has its challenges, and finding songs that work well with the band as a whole would be amazing, it is just complicated, especially if the band director has to learn the music themself.

        Afterward the game heads into halftime. The marching band from Troy, dressed in their red shirts, black pants, and white feathered hats, begins halftime playing their show. As they play, the Montoursville band cheers and applauds carefully, as to show their support, but not drown out Troy's band. After Troy plays their show people leave the stands to get food and drink. Like rush hour in a restaurant, the lines are long, the people are everywhere, and the little kids continue to play their games on the grass. The bands can be seen standing in the lines as well, getting food while they can. A loud noise can be heard, and upon inspection can be seen emitting from a group comprised of Montoursville band members and Troy band members. They are jumping up and down in a big group hug, shouting with excitement.

        "You guys were amazing!" exclaims a member from Troy.

        "Thanks! You guys were so good as well!" replies Montoursville trombonist Sean Rehn, still bouncing up and down with excitement, her short blond hair bouncing along. "What instrument do you play?" she inquires.

        "I play the trumpet," the trumpeter states. "What about you, what's your instrument?"

        "I play the trombone," Sean replies.

        "What's your number?" interjects another member from the Montoursville band. "You seem pretty cool." The trumpeter proceeds to exchange contact information with the Montoursville band member. Moving away from that group, another conversation could be heard.

        "Addison, what is your sister playing?" saxophonist Grace asks fellow member and trombonist, Addison Confer, confusion taking over her face.

        "What is it?" Addison asks, slight confusion taking over his face too.

        "It's a game where she swipes down on her phone and milks realistic looking udders and it counts how much milk she's collected!" exclaims Grace, throwing her arms in the air, unsure of what to make of what she is witnessing.

        "Oh, I don't know, she plays weird games sometimes," Addison dismisses with a shrug. Grace is left dumbfounded, but she eventually goes on with life, realizing that some things just cannot be explained. The band proceeds to go back to the stands, eat, then get ready to continue playing. After halftime ends the band gets back to it. Two members are even unlucky enough to be fooling around and not paying attention while Mr. Morgan is talking, resulting in Mr. Morgan shouting at them.

        Although the band is one unit and they are pretty much all friends, they sadly have some inside issues. "Band is almost always a positive place, but sometimes negativity and competition can get in the way of that. I do band to have fun and I feel the overly competitive, self-centered individuals can ruin the enjoyable experience that I try to have and allow others to have," Melody sighs, putting emphasis and venom on self-centered. Members trying to be the center of attention and feel like they are the best definitely causes others to not enjoy their experience, which could result in people quitting band. "I wish some band members cared more," trombonist Addison Confer remarks, "Some students are just there for an easy grade, but band is more than that. It requires passion in the work to actually put effort into it," he proceeds to look around, like he is searching for the people he is talking about. Being there for an easy grade has a tremendous impact on band moral, and not in a good way, bringing band members who are passionate to tears thinking about these people. Another problem is not in the band itself; it is in the surrounding components. "I feel very disconnected from the football team and the cheerleaders," Sean starts, "I know Mr. Morgan is trying to build community with the alma mater at the end of every game, but the football players are throwing tantrums every time they have to come and watch us play it. It feels like they don't appreciate us," she stops and looks at the ground sad. The football team not appreciating the band affects the band's emotions. It makes them feel like they are not good enough. The band is there to support the team and play music to pump the team up.

        Towards the end of the fourth quarter Montoursville finally scores a touchdown.

The band watching and reacting as
their team scores a touchdown.

The band explodes in cheers, only drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. Sadly, Montoursville's team cannot come back from their deficit in the four seconds remaining in the game, losing 38 to 7. The band proceeds to play the alma mater, and the team stands there, exhausted, wanting to go home after suffering an extreme loss. Meanwhile, the cheerleaders are doing their dance, with big smiles trying to keep the atmosphere cheery. The crowd disperses from the stadium, the band carries their instruments back to the band room of the high school, and the streets become crowded with cars, making it difficult for the people walking to get home.

        There are many things that go into marching band. Things like, practice, passion, fun, but there are plenty of problems as well, competition, and jealousy. Marching band is a family, all members have to get along to make the experience fun for them, and pleasant to watch from an audience perspective. Marching band remains one of the most difficult yet rewarding, and fascinating things of all time.