Local Bands gear up for ’09 Season

By: Jermaine Williams
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Marching Band Analyst

Marching band in Indiana is one of the biggest co-curricular activities.  Orange County is rich in that marching band tradition.  The three county schools have made a combined 46 trips to state finals.  This year hopes to be no different as all three schools look to achieve that goal of being a state finalist.

The schools will begin their season this weekend at the Springs Valley Festival of Marching Bands in French Lick.  Northeast Dubois and Crawford County will join them at the Festival.  Here is what to look for from the 2009 editions of our county marching bands.

We have some pictures from Band Camp posted from earlier this week:
Band Camp 2009 Pictures

Check them out!

This fall The Pride of Paoli will take you on a journey into the woods. POP will bring to the field the legendary Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” in their production “The Road Less Traveled.”

Movement 1: Two Roads Diverged In a Yellow Wood

Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre starts the show as the character comes about the split in the road. "Lux Aurumque," translating to "Light of Gold," gives off the idea of potential and opportunity down the way. After we get to the main hit in Lux, we enter the keyboard feature.

Movement 2: The Wrong Road?

This takes the viewer into a state of chaos and feeling that maybe they have taken the wrong road. Canyon by Phillip Glass is an opportunity for us to showcase simultaneous moving and playing responsibilit, as well as some great drill velocity. Canyon ends with a fadeaway into the ballad.

Movement 3: And I - I took the One Less Traveled By

Dancer in the Dark by Bjork. The idea of this piece is the comfort of going down a path alone, but not being afraid. There is time for great build in the hornline with a simultaneous world drumming part in the percussion. This is also a great opportunity to demonstrate some different visual skill sets with the hornline. Not a great piece to be marching in double time the whole time. We can really give ourselves a push in the vidual performance box by demonstrating different skills and challenges other than simultaneous moving and playing.

Movement 4: And That Has Made All the Difference

Joy and The Call of the Mountain. This is a celebration of the courage to head down the road less traveled. This part of the show is all about tying it all together. It is a celebration of individualism and having the courage to venture into the unknown. From a show design standpoint, this is also a great place to play loud with lots of moving and have little technical demand in the music book.