Sat Feb 11 2012
by Mike Lesko, Stow Sentry associate editor
"Lesko, hold your trumpet up higher when you're playing!"
It was my first day of high school marching band practice. I hoped I would not be noticed.
But on this early August day leading up to my freshman year at Lorain High School, the marching band director had just yelled out my name in front of the entire 100-member band.
Practice continued, and other kids got yelled at, too. That made me feel better, and I realized it was no big deal.
We were preparing our pre-game and half-time shows for our first Friday night football game of the season that was four weeks away.
That type of preparation is what the Hudson High School marching band has been going through.
The Explorers football squad was scheduled to open its season at Medina Aug. 27 and will play its first home game Sept. 10 against Jackson.
At Lorain High School, we had to learn the music to five songs for the first game -- memorize them if we could -- plus the marching drills that went with them.
"Eight to five! Eight to five!" the marching band director kept yelling to the whole band.
That meant if you took eight marching steps that were the correct length, you'd hit a yard line on the football field with your right foot on your eighth step. The yard lines were 5 yards apart.
In those first few days of practice, a lot of people didn't come close.
There was so much to remember. I kept picturing somebody turning left -- and everybody else turning right -- but somehow that never happened.
Slowly, day by day, things began to take shape. By the end of the third week of practice, the director told us that the band's marching routines looked pretty good.
By the opening Friday night, everyone seemed confident. We arrived at the high school band room, then rode in buses to the football stadium that was on the other side of town.
I vividly remember marching into the stadium for the first time as a high school band member. We were swinging our instruments up and down, then horizontally, to the drum beat. It was exhilarating.
Marching onto the field for my first half-time performance was even more exciting. With the stadium lights shining on us, we were on center stage.
Our band sounded great that night. We had practiced the marching routines so much that they almost seemed second-nature.
After the half-time show ended, I recall marching off the field, again to the beat of the drums.
I had a feeling of pride -- I'm sure most of us did -- that our entire band had done something special because of all the hard work we had put in.
Those are feelings that the Hudson marching band members are likely to experience this fall.
Unless they are band parents or adults familiar with the band, some people sitting in the stands at half-time may not realize just how much hard work goes into the band performance that may last 10 minutes or so.
But all the work is worth it.
For me, being in the band was the best part about high school. The band provided memories that are still vivid to me decades later.
Most of the people from high school that I still keep in contact with were in the band. Most of the anecdotes that we share from our high school days are about the band.
Perhaps it will be that way, too, for members of the Hudson band as they go on with their lives -- realizing that the band experience provides moments and memories that are irreplaceable.
E-mail: mlesko@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3917
Comments
By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite.
Inappropriate posts may be removed.
Hudsonhubtimes.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Login above or Register to comment.
0 Total Comments Home | Back
Copyright Record Publishing Co, LLC. 1995-2011. All Rights Reserved.
Content may not be republished without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Content may not be republished without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Dix Communications