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Expectant Prayers ®

Jennifer Jo Weiss

Band Show

We attended a High School Band Show this weekend at a metro stadium and it was a lot of fun. Actually, we only saw half of the show (3 bands out of 6) because we weren't sure when it started, but we knew the time of the performance for the band we were wanting to see.  By the time we got there, they were starting the 4th band, but it ended up being better my little kids who probably would not have been able to sit there for nearly three hours!

Wow!  My own memories of four years of marching band swirled through my mind as I sat and watched the various groups.  The click of the cadence, the stiff stuffy feeling in those band uniforms (in 80 degree weather), standing at attention, the crazy hats (ours looked like giant Q-tips), those Thursday night practices, Mr. H on tall scaffolding yelling though a megaphone, the yard lines painted on the parking lot,after the game pizza, the friends, the thrill of being part of something bigger than yourself, and memories of travel.    A big part of music really is about the people you meet and the experiences you have! 

I sat and looked at these kids with wonder about their futures.  They all looked so young and they have their whole lives in front of them.  One day they'll be sitting back (like me) and remembering these days with fondness.   Do they even grasp beyond the "now"?  Probably not!  That's okay.  I didn't either at that age- but I am sure they are making some great memories!

One thing I remember about the band shows we were in... our director demanded professionalism.  We were not allowed to remove our uniforms if we were not on the field, we had to conduct ourselves in a mannerly fashion, we were representing the school and we were to act as such, and we were to show proper respect to the other schools.  The shows would begin with each band playing their fight song and passing the crowd in the stands.  Then, all the bands would assemble on the field (in block formation) for a giant rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" before we would compete.  It gave a great overview of all the bands. 

Though this show was less "formal" (in fact one of the groups didn't even have uniforms and they're from one of the most affluent cities in the metro- buy those kids some uniforms p-l-e-a-s-e), I thought the kids performed well.  My kids really enjoyed the drum lines and percussion- the ones who didn't march, but were up in the front with kettle drums, bells, etc.    Our friend's daughter marches for the Truman Patriots (yes, as in President Truman) with the flag corp and another boy from our church plays tuba in the same band.   It was neat to see them in action and they both did a really great job. In fact, Truman won first place overall!




















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