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| The Wakeland HS Band is proud to present |
| our 2010 Competition Show… |
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| [click here to listen to a recording of the orchestral basis] |
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| Practice Makes Perfect |
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| Salvation is Created (1912) |
| Pavel Tchesnokov |
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| Hungarian Dance #5 in G minor (1889) |
| Johannes Brahms |
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| Pavane in F# minor (1887) |
| Gabriel Fauré |
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| Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) |
| Sergei Rachmaninoff |
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| Dance Bacchanale (1877) |
| Camille Saint-Saëns |
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| Practice Makes Perfect - a note about the show from Mr. Miller |
| To all WHS Band Students/Parents/Supporters – past, present, and future… |
| I wanted to write a bit about this show. Some of you have heard us talk about it, and some have seen the formal presentation, but I think it deserves some reflection. Next year is a big transition year for our program. We are coming off of the most successful season we’ve had since our opening in 2006, and we are transitioning out the last of the “Original 68” student-performers who founded our program. |
| As we thought about shows, we knew that what we programmed needed to be smart, it needed to honor the direction we’d been heading, but also continue moving forward in the style that has been successful for us. The immortal Walt Disney’s quote resounded in my head throughout the development process: “Around here, we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” We considered lots of options, and actually have 3 shows that have developed out of our brainstorming sessions. |
| Ultimately, a show about YOUR LIVES came to the forefront. In truth, while we don’t always say it, you are our greatest inspiration – our students, our parents, and our alumni. So many people have worked arduously to build a legacy for this program, and the results, when I look back, are inspirational. In the Summer of 2006, we pulled together a dedicated staff of 4 and a performing ensemble of 68 and set out to make every performance, every rehearsal, and every moment together into a memorable experience. During these first few years, we have shared many successes, and some failures, and have learned many lessons in the process. |
| One constant, throughout the process, has been the members’ abilities to rehearse like this was their last chance to practice something, and to encourage one another when the days were really tough. I questioned if we could make this into a show, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense – this show could be something EVERYONE could relate to – judges, parents, students, athletes, football fans, etc. – because it’s a show about hard work, about being a part of something much larger than yourself, and about never giving up, no matter how difficult things may seem. |
| From there, things just developed… |
| The Learning Process (Intro) - Salvation is Created |
| We wanted a chorale that could start backfield, with the drumline warming up, the guard setting equipment and spinning, and the winds doing our stock backfield chorale…and we wanted the show to start without you really knowing it was going to start. There are the obvious obstacles – someone has to say, “Drum Majors, is you band ready?”, but beyond that, we wanted the beginning to feel organic, much like a rehearsal just comes together and you look around and have this “aha!” moment – the “I’m actually DOING this” moment. |
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| The Learning Process – Hungarian Dance #5 |
| This piece fit its purpose great. Brahms wrote the work almost 200 years ago, but it still holds up with modern audiences. Plus, the musical breaks that Brahms put into the piece allowed us to simulate a “rehearsal scene”, where we march a bit, and receive commentary from “the box” – notes like “fix this”, “that was good”, “let’s try this part again”, and “one more time…”. But we still hadn’t hit the core of the matter – how do we make an audience/judges empathize with the performers. We needed a sacrificial lamb – someone willing to make a purposeful mistake, and get called out – and get cut down for just a moment. The more I thought about it, there was only one person who had a strong enough sense of self to act through a mistake and pretend to get called out every day for 5 months (thanks, by the way). On the 3rd rehearsal break, she’s going to get called out, and it’s not going to be pretty. And she’ll experience something that nearly all of us have gone through at some point in our lives – wondering if we’re in the right place…wondering if marching band is the right fit for us. |
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| Why I Do This - Pavane |
| Personally, I LOVE the work. I’ve always wanted to find a place for it on the field. It’s ethereal, shifting between sadness and doubt, happiness and purpose. On some level, we have all been here in our lives: a crossroads: a time when we wonder if being a part of something difficult (work, friendship, school, family, relationship) is really worth it. After our dejected performer falls out of the block, and rehearsal dismisses, she delivers a monologue – a bit of self-talk – about why she does this. She asks common questions: “why does everyone care so much?”; “it’s just band, right?”; “why did I choose to do something that’s SO hard?” In the end, another performer falls out of the drill to offer timeless words of encouragement: “we’re here because, on some level, we really LOVE how the marching experiences make us feel. Because we know we’re learning to be better people…and we like being a part of something much larger than ourselves.” There is a moment of resolution – a kind of resolution, but not fully – as if to say, “I’m not really sure, but I’ll stick with it one more day…one more week…one more year…”, and we all know how this one ends – before too long, it becomes a part of who you are. |
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| Get Ready – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini |
| The calm is replaced by a new, more frantic pace. These are our pre-show rituals. We transition from what is rehearsal to what is becoming PERFORMANCE, and it’s not going to be easy. The guard is setting flags, the drumline is jamming, and the winds are hurriedly finding their place on the field, checking their uniforms, and blocking up for the big entrance. |
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| The Show (Intro) – Danse Bacchanale (introduction – oboe solo) |
| The opening oboe solo was an excellent opportunity for us to showcase one of our favorite soloists, and a chance to really have fun with the audience/judges. We wanted the show to start over again. There are technical constraints, as well as some rules issues to navigate, but we’re going to record the show intro from earlier, and replay the announcer’s lines over this intro, “Drum Majors, is you band ready? [salute] You may now take the field in competition.” |
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| The Show – Danse Bacchanale (full work, excerpted) |
| With this, the “show-within-a-show” will start. It’s a “Russian” show with red flags and common-use guard uniforms. We will march and play for 2½ minutes. We hope it to be great stuff – what we do well – conveying classical themes in a new way – making you think a different way about a theme you’ve known for years. I’m most excited about this section. |
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| Epilogue |
| The Epilogue answers the question asked earlier – “is this all really worthwhile?” The full ensemble will begin to exit the field – a quiet drum cadence, themes of “Salvation is Created” washing over the backfield, and the guard gathering equipment. As this takes place, our two friends from earlier in the show fall out again. They pick up their conversation at a later point – after the show has ended – and publicly acknowledge why they do this – for the audience, for the judges, for their parents and family, and for themselves. As if agreeing with the dialogue, the ensemble will pause for a moment, and play one last phrase together – winds, guard, and drumline – as they agree that it is all worthwhile, and that Practice does make Perfect. |
| I realize the show is imperfect. There have been some great shows in the past that have honored the importance of music education, most notably CDT 2007 and KMHS 2004. I don’t want to even try to replace either of these two great works of art on the field. Instead, I would prefer to take their cues and develop the idea on a more personal level, experiencing the emotions of an individual performer, and helping the audience relate with and remember why we choose to take part in this activity every year. |
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| Good Luck to the 2010-2011 Wakeland High School Marching Band. |
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| Thank you to the Wakeland 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 Bands. Your contributions continue to inspire us daily. |
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| …and to the future generations of WHS Band members, we look forward to seeing you among our ranks, and to building this great tradition. |
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| Sincerely, |
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| GJM |
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