Diving Into The Season

This latest Monday practice was a very productive one. While it was quite regular, I felt pleased at the progress the band made. During basics, we practiced the first step of forward marching as well as our posture extensively - my morale improved as I saw our newcomers really get the hang of marching, just as I had done last year.

Our warm-ups were not spectacular, and the only change was moving from the traditional arc into a circle. But things really kicked off when we split off into sectionals. The brass and woodwinds section both practiced the opener of The Machines (the only piece we currently have) heavily, and once we moved into the entire ensemble, it was a truly epic scene.

By tomorrow, I hope to be able to post an audio clip of the opener, or at least have it available for download.

The End of An Era

Just a few days ago, the Warwick High School Graduation took place. In the past, this hadn't concerned me because I didn't know any seniors. But my outlook changed this year, as I found myself going not only for Symphonic Band, but to say goodbye to the 30 seniors that the marching band has lost.

The ceremony was quite ordinary, but I found myself remembering some of the greatest moments from this past band season, like our Home Competition, and the nervousness we felt before Championships.

This has truly been the final goodbye to our seniors - now, the 2009 Warwick Marching Band can begin its brand new season...

Baccalaureate Tonight, Tomorrow - Graduation!

Tonight was a great night indeed, with the orchestra and chorus both saying their second-to-last goodbyes to the senior class.

The Baccalaureate began with the Flute Quartet and Symphony V by the orchestra, one of the pieces we played during our Spring Concert. Because two of our clarinets were graduating, and another was unfortunately absent, I was the only clarinet playing the song. This made me happy because there are multiple parts in the piece where the clarinet is the main focus.

The orchestra proceeded to play Pomp & Circumstance, the classic graduation tune, and then, four verses of Amazing Grace.

Once we had completed those three pieces, the senior class had a variety of performances for the audience, including Pray For Me, Whenever You Remember (a song accompanied with a dance performance), Suite No. 2 in D Minor (an amazing viola piece played from memory), and my personal favorite, Let It Be.

I was quite nervous when we played Let There Be Peace On Earth, for I had a very short time to practice it, and having an important part. I did worse than I had done during practice, though I understand that I had only a half an hour to practice it.

And now, I look forward to tomorrow, where the Symphonic Band will play off our graduating seniors, thus waving goodbye to the 2008 Warwick Marching Band forever...

Morale Improves

Despite only being the second practice of the season, coupled with the fact that it took place during finals, this Monday's practice was better than expected.

After the usual "welcome" message, we dived right into the basics block, where everyone, including the returning members, was harshly judged on their posture. We practiced extensively with the first step of forward marching, which seriously helped the newcomers, and reminded me of some tips I had forgotten since Championships.

Once basics was over, we went inside to hide from the heat, going straight into warm-ups. We then split into sectionals for nearly an hour, where we worked extensively on the opener of "The Machines". I can't speak for the other sections, but the clarinet section made some major improvements.

At eight thirty, with just a half an hour to go before practice ended, the entire wind section gathered for an ensemble, where we practiced the end of the opener. Once we had sufficiently practiced with the new, faster tempo (apparently, the actual tempo is much faster, at 180 beats per minute), we played through the entire opener. This showed me, among other things, that "The Machines" is a truly intense show.

Our next practice is scheduled 6-9, next Monday. However, hopefully by the end of the week, I hope to be able to upload the opener of "The Machines" (not us playing, but the official recording) onto this blog.

Blog Updates

Please excuse the lack of updates to this blog; the practice season has only just started, so posts will be few and far between until we get closer to the season. However, I have added some things to the blog sidebar - our scores from each of our competitions last year, and a link to some photos of last year's season. Enjoy!

2009 Marching Band Begins The Season

It's finally started - with new and returning members combined again, we have begun work on our marching, and our show, The Machines.

Practice started different than usual - three "stations" were set up in the band parking lot - a backwards marching station with Eric, a sliding station with Miss Milley, and a forward marching/marking time station with our new woodwind instructor, Alyssa.

After that, we did some of our new warm-ups with the entire band before splitting into woodwind and brass sections. Both sections dove deep into the opener (the only piece we currently have), and when we put it together, it's intensity definitely rivalled that of The Rise of The Samurai Warrior, our show last year.

Stay tuned for more updates on all of our practices, football games, and competitions!

You may have noticed the color changes to the blog - they are not final, but I would like new colors to reflect our new show.