Band Camp is Over!

What a great 3 weeks it has been! The band has accomplished so much and come so far since that first day of Pre-Camp!

Today we were able to debut drill, music and choreography to parents that is the first few minutes of our show. And of course there was the annual moment of extreme confusion when the parents came onto the field to learn a little bit of drill. My personal favorites were a father holding a piccolo, two parents taking the back podium and combining forces to conduct, and a mom learning the play the bells in the pit! The chaos was wonderful and much deserved!

The rest of the day was spent in morning/afternoon blocks. Morning block was spent marching for the winds and battery, and warm-up for the pit (which I was able to sit in on, they were able to master all 12 major scales today, nice job!). Afternoon block was a re-warm for percussion and warm up for the winds, including a nice visit from our friends on the football and volleyball teams. Everyone then moved into full ensemble and we chunked through the show and were able to do a couple runs before most of the parents showed up! Then, we blew our parents away with our progress and got our show shirts (wheewww)!

Everyone has worked so hard for the last 15 days! We've survived heat, rain, and clouds, everything but snow (we live in Mukilteo, so don't hold you're breath though)! Rehearsal has been crazy productive and Nick continues to remind us that if we keep rehearsing the way we have been we are going to be unstoppable! This is so true! I know that every single member of the show band will be able to look back at the end of the season and be proud of what we have accomplished and how far we will have come.

For now rest your bodies and enjoy the next couple days off!!!
See you on Tuesday, I'll be ready, hope you are!

Emma

 

Parents learning how to march...something all the students love. We get to become the teachers!

The Last Full Day of Band Camp (Wednesday)

We started off in the PAC with plans to watch a drum corps video (Cadets, 2011). Due to technical difficulties we ended up on the field a little earlier than anticipated. Hopefully we can watch the video at another rehearsal!

 

As usual, we spent the morning in visual rehearsal with Calvin and the rest of our field staff. After basics, we were able to put the music to all of the drill we have learned so far.

After dinner we met for quick sectionals, and came together at around 7:15 for full ensemble rehearsal. Before full ensemble began, we sat down with our instructors and listened to a recording the new music we will be playing. It was a very exciting time and we made a lot of progress tonight.

 

We ended the evening with two full-runs of all of the music and drill that we have learned so far (about half of our show). There were a few parents and several students from last year who came out to watch us. Afterward, Nick Benson told us during wrap-up that we are on of the best rehearsing groups around and that if we continue to rehearse and progress like we are now, nobody will be able to stop us from reaching the top. Most sections broke off after wrap-up to talk about the evening and the season ahead. Everyone left the field on fire tonight with a common goal in mind.

 

Many of the seniors went out for Dairy Queen after rehearsal to celebrate the last full day band camp rehearsal ever.

The trumpet section gathered around Calvin, our field tech, to celebrate a great rehearsal.

Monday Rehearsal

Today's rehearsal went well. In the morning we worked on basics and reviewed our slides and backwards marching techniques. With Calvin and the rest of our field staff we were able to put a lot of new drill onto the field. After dinner we broke off into brass and woodwind sectionals and eventually into individual sections. Later, we rejoined as an entire band for tracking to prepare to put the music to the new drill tomorrow. Although we struggled a bit with focus towards the end of the night, a quick talk from Nick helped us to end the evening on a good note and prepare us for tomorrow.