From August until early November, neighbors living in houses near the school hear familiar sounds on Thursday evenings — the blaring of trumpets, crashing of drums and the speaker-projected voice of music director Jason Shiuan echoing in the night as the nearly 200-member marching band practices.
The Falcon set out on Nov. 6 to experience the band’s last 3-hour rehearsal of this season to uncover the details behind the energy that brings their performances to life.
Starting in August, the marching band rehearses three times a week on Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. Saturdays stretch as long as 9 a.m to 5 p.m. and Mondays or Tuesdays, where the winds, guards and percussion split into sectionals and rehearse individually.
The Nov. 6 rehearsal started out with the standard warmup: a quick lap around the lower field, shoes thudding lightly on the turf as the students spread out across the cool evening. The entire field was clearly home to the band — every section of the field was occupied by either guard, percussion, winds or the front ensemble. Movement from stretching and light warm ups created activity in the vast space that makes up the first 15 minutes of every rehearsal.
After warming up, the musicians and performers picked up their instruments and equipment to prepare for practice. Each section has their own unique warm-up routine — the color guard members continue through more dance-oriented exercises with their equipment, while the musicians practice their scales and fundamentals.
Brass players lifted their instruments and sent a few bright notes into the air; the front ensemble marimbas answered with scales that rippled down the frontline.
Uniformity is prominent in every ensemble, whether it is the rapid tapping of mallets or organized marching of the wind musicians. Across the field, the guard members spun their equipment, as metallic clatter of poles and sabers released a rhythm of their own. Finally, percussion musicians drummed patterns that pulsed through the air.
About 40 minutes later, all sections coalesced for a full ensemble, where they began to rehearse their field show. This year’s performance, titled “The Thread Between Us,” featured three movements. The remainder of the rehearsal was split evenly between individually rehearsing parts of each movement.
At the front of the band stood the student leaders — drum majors Anthony Luo, Matthew Liu, Jet Tsang and junior Ethan Lee — raising their batons and calling out commands that resonate through the field. Their gestures cued every shift in tempo and guided the band through the night’s practice.
Whether working on choreography or musical elements like dynamics and rhythm, the goal of these rehearsals is to clean up mistakes and reveal areas of improvement.
For junior saxophone player Anirwin Kotti, bringing the musical and visual aspects of the show together stands as the distinctive challenge of marching band.
“Assigning movements to certain beats in your head and keeping track of both movement and music is not a simple task,” Kotti said. “At the same time, the ‘click’ when you understand how these two aspects fit together is satisfying.”
The musical side of marching band brings its own challenges completely distinct from a setting like the concert hall. For example, musicians on the field face the difficulty of managing breath control to produce a good tone while performing physically draining routines.
Dynamics play a crucial role in performances, with cresendos — gradual increases of volume from a lower sound — being a colorful and satisfying musical decoration. Music articulation within the marching band has a plethora of areas to find improvements within, which the long periods of rehearsal tweak closer to perfection every week.
The other half of the marching band — the choreography and marching — is no less significant. Precision and unity are key qualities that are difficult to maintain, yet substantially improve the ensemble’s look. Memorizing the timing for every action comes with experience, endless repetition and practice.
Since Thursday’s rehearsal was the finale for the entire season, the marching band ran through their entire performance to end the night — as the end of rehearsal rolled around, the bleachers were filled with parents looking to support their children.
After the run-through, Shiuan and fellow music director Michael Boitz, as well the four drum major concluded with a final farewell message to the entire marching band. Luo, Tsang, Liu and Lee expressed pride and gratitude for a season full of spirit, fun and community — which was only obtained through collective effort of the whole band.
Now, even with the season over, the marching band remains a fixture in the lives of many participants
“To me, what’s special about marching band is not just the activity, but to be able to build everlasting friendships with so many people — one that I would call a family,” Lee said.
