Local marching band directors sound off on upcoming season

Jul. 19—The blast of the horns, the trill of the woodwinds, the steady cadence of the bass drum — for many, it's the sound of summertime.

As high school fall sports teams like football and soccer prepare for the season ahead, so too do local students involved in marching band. Each year, young musicians gather for band camp starting in July, to start learning the music and on-field drill for the show they will practice and perfect to go before judges and compete against their peers from across the state throughout the season.

Among those bands are each public high school in the county — Pulaski County High School, Somerset High School, and Southwestern High School. Each is led by an experienced director with a rising program, and each is currently hard at work preparing for this fall's slate of band contests.

Pulaski County's band, known as the P.R.I.D.E. of Pulaski, has had some incredible success in recent years, earning their best-ever finish in state competition in 2019, finishing fifth in their class and missing the finals for the top for by .7 of a point, and in 2020 won virtual national titles in multiple competitions when traditional contests were cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

However, last year was a "rebuilding season" for Pulaski County, according to director Scott Sexton, with around 70 percent of the band as newcomers. Few new members had entered the program previously due to the uncertainty present by COVID. Still, the band managed to be competitive in a stacked KMEA (Kentucky Music Educators Association) Class AAA, and finished fourth overall in Class AAA at MSBA (MidStates Band Association) Championships.

"While we are still a young band with only seven juniors and seniors, we have far more returning members this year making our ratio of new to experienced marchers much more manageable," said Sexton, noting that the band has about 55 members this year, slightly smaller than usual but with good instrumentation. "The kids have started off extremely strong both visually and musically so far at camp and I think that we will be able to compete with the top bands in our class to hopefully earn a finalist spot this year."

Sexton added that the program's colorguard unit is coming off a very successful Winter Guard season, and has been able to learn more advanced choreography this year. Additionally, 2018 PCHS alum and recent University of the Cumberlands graduate Drew Shannon is returning to the school as Sexton's assistant band director.

Pulaski's 2023 show is entitled "When The Dust Settles." Set in the 1930s Dust Bowl era, the collection of pieces played tells the story of how the people of that time overcame many hardships to thrive despite the harsh conditions that were prevalent during that era. Musical selections will include "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas, "Harmonium: III. Wild Nights" by John Adams, "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, and "Symphony I" by Samuel Barber. Music arrangements and drill were done by Eric Hale, an accomplished state champion band director who has worked closely with Pulaski's program in the past.

"Our band is very much a family and a safe haven for our students," said Sexton. "Our parents, students, and staff develop very strong relationships. For many of our students, band is what motivates them to come to school and strive to be successful. Many of our graduating seniors earn money to participate in ensembles at the college level and this is what allows many of them to continue their education."

Somerset is another program that has enjoyed reaching new heights in the recent past. In 2021, the Jumper Band made finals for the first time, finishing fifth in KMEA Class A (for smaller bands) semis, out of 12 bands, and thanks to a change allowing the top six went on to finals instead of only four, made it to the final round of state competition. Last year, they advanced to the semifinals for the third time since re-entering the competitive arena in 2015, having not marched for a number of years prior to director Megan Lenox's arrival.

The Jumper Marching Band will have 42 members for competitive performances and 52 for football games, with 10 in competitive colorguard and 14 including junior cadets who will participate in football games.

"We are training several new students in all sections but particularly in color guard and percussion this year," said Lenox. "However, we are confident that our student leadership team has the skills needed to foster amazing progress this season."

SHS's 2023 program is based on a children's book titled "King Winter," written by Gustav W. Seitz in 1859, featuring a Germanic and Norse winter solstice figure similar to Santa Claus. The end result is sure to help cool students down during those hot summer practices.

"He brings snow, ice, and Christmas Spirit with the assistance of his helpers Queen Winter and Jack Frost," said Lenox. "The SHS Jumper Band will take our audience through the progression of the winter season, and you may encounter a few 'tricks' from Jack Frost toward the end of the program!"

Lenox also shared thoughts from the program's current field commander, Allison Bryant, on her thoughts on what band participation offers students.

"The marching band experience brings you from a young child to a young adult. You learn more than how to play the notes on a page and march around a football field," said Bryant. "It prepares you for life because it touches the necessities needed to function in society. You spend hours learning responsibility, cooperation, discipline, and other qualities you don't even realize. We get a purpose and a place to allow us to flourish. This is so important for schools to offer because the lessons and skills you obtain are endless. You learn everything from how to build to how to communicate properly. Without this offered, students will never experience the growth and development marching band brings."

Southwestern's band, directed by Austin Gilliatt, is continuing to work toward the kind of achievements the other two programs have seen recently, making the top 10 of of Class AAAA in 2021, and winning categories at various contests last year, including two reserve grand champions, while dealing with the same kind of challenges presented by the COVID years that Sexton mentioned, from a numbers and experience standpoint.

"This didn't hinder the student's eagerness or drive, though," he said. "In fact, last year's group was one of the hardest working groups I've had the pleasure to work with. They were determined to improve and make each rehearsal (and) performance better than the last. That's what it's all about, continuous improvement on and off the field."

This year's band has 83 total members, a substantial increase from last year's 57-person ensemble. Gilliatt also said the instrumentation is very evenly distributed, with an ideal number of students on each instrument to create the kind of balanced, full sound a director wants.

The 2023 show is called "bitterSUITE" — as Gilliatt puts it, the theme is "essentially about good vs. evil, light vs. dark, bitter vs. sweet through the use and idea of candy and play on the word 'Sweet/Suite.'" Pieces include "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics, music from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Danny Elfman, "Lollipop" by the Chordettes, "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow, "Big Rock Candy Mountains" by Harry McClintock, "First Suit in E Flat" by Gustav Holst as well as his "Second Suite in F," and some original music by Gilliatt himself.

"There's so much contrasting material and richness within these musical selections that it was a lot of fun composing and arranging our music for this year," he said. "This will also lend well to represent the dichotomy visually on the field."

While marching band offers the opportunity for students who aren't as into sports played with a ball to experience competition in school that tests them physically, mentally, and in every way that's beneficial for helping young people grow, music in general is well-known to be a key part of the overall education experience, something directors like Gilliatt, Lenox and Sexton have brought to numerous classes to pass through their respective schools.

"Music compliments and is associated with every other subject," said Gilliatt. "For example, music is science. We learn about acoustics, harmonies, frequencies, etc. Music is math. It's rhythmically based on subdivision of time into fractions, which have to be performed in real time and not worked out on paper. Music is history. We study and perform music from all genres, places, eras, composers, and artists. Music is a foreign language. Terms in music are either in Italian, German, or French; and the actual musical notation is a type of shorthand that uses symbols. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language. Music is physical education. Not only does playing an instrument demand coordination of fingers, hands, arms, and facial muscles, it also requires the control of the diaphragm, back, and stomach. Marching band requires students to also learn and memorize drill and choreography. Finally, music is art. It allows students to be human, create emotion, learn empathy, and communicate with an audience.

"For me, I'll tell my students that I don't care if we win every trophy in the world or no trophies at all," he added. "Trophies are great, but they collect dust. Twenty years from now, they likely won't remember specific placements, scores, or trophies. What they will remember are the experiences, their life-long friends, and that hard work pays off. I want my students to perform to the best of their ability, be the best version of themselves on and off the field, and to be proud of the work they do. This will help them go out into the world and accomplish great things."