by Andree Niswander, reporter
After attending a week-long camp at Walsh University in North Canton, the Hudson High School marching band kicked off its 2008 season with a performance at Lavelli Stadium Aug. 8.
The 240-member band performed one of its three halftime shows, featuring musical numbers by rock groups including Queen, Styx, Phin Lizzy, and artist Jackie Wilson.
This year's musical performances are intended to be crowd pleasers, according to Mark Zartman, marching band director.
"We play a lot of high energy music that the crowd knows," said Zartman. "People in the stands can relate to that."
Since fundraisers help to support music program needs, including camp, the Hudson High School Music Association sponsors several throughout the year.
Participating in the annual Hudson High School Music Association Tag Day, band, choir and orchestra students will knock on doors throughout the city Sept. 6 asking for donations to support the high school music programs. Proceeds from Tag Day will be used for uniforms, instruments, repairs, clinics and supplies.
With a season to include home and away football games as well as five marching band shows, this year's marching band will uphold a tradition of quality, Zartman added.
"We pride ourselves in having an excellent marching band," he said.
Once upon a step in time, I, too, was in an excellent marching band. It still gives me pride to recall that we were invited to perform at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and at a major university's football halftime show.
But before another word falls from my fingertips, I must first confess that I was not the band star.
Singing was my forté, and I didn't start playing the saxophone until eighth grade. Following a family move that threatened to devastate both my report card and teenage social life, my parents decided to enroll me in band, so I could meet "some nice kids."
Since I had always wanted to play an instrument, I went along with their idea. The shiny, new Selmer Bundy II saxophone didn't hurt.
Although I was three years behind the brilliant skills of the director's twin boys, my late entry into band was perfectly timed. My grades went back up to the beginning of the alphabet, and I discovered that my social life still had a pulse.
By the time high school marching band camp came around, my instrumental abilities were in synch with the best ... freshmen, that is.
That doesn't say much.
When I marched, I couldn't play every note. And like most other floundering freshman, if I had to memorize my steps and the song, something had to give. Usually, I left the music to more experienced upperclassmen, focusing solely on my footwork. I faked playing the keys, because it is, after all, better to look good on the football field, right?
As the years went on, my abilities to move and make noise at the same time improved. I became adept at putting the left foot down with the first beat, and grew to love my place on the line.
Some of my fondest high school memories are underscored with a beat, from the dreadfully hot and humid days of band camp to finger-freezing fall football games. My uniform was ill-fitted, and the trombones behind me constantly spitted, but the daily discipline of marching band brought a distinct rhythm and continuity to my high school days.
Oh, I was never the squad leader, first chair or drum major. I was too busy socializing, a skill that earned me the "band member most likely to have their name screamed over the director's megaphone" award each year.
But I loved marching band. I loved playing a patriotic John Philip Sousa march for the first time and experiencing its transformation from mere sheet music to marching music machine within a matter of weeks.
I didn't care for the spats so much, but that first step onto the field for our very first halftime show each year was almost magical. Hearing the crowd cheer after the final note was intoxicating. Back in the stands, we kept the team, the cheerleaders, the crowd and the hot chocolate line at the concession stand going.
For the bus ride home, everyone wanted the heater seats, to thaw out before the next football game. And while our digits defrosted, we sang every bus song ever sung until our voices were hoarse. Good times.
I cannot hear a parade drum line or watch a marching band file onto the track before a half-time performance without remembering those days. For me, band provided a steady beat where once there was teenage turmoil. Thanks to loving parents and music, my high school years were successful and laid a solid foundation for the rest of my life.
Marching together to a common beat, kids can learn music lessons for life, from teamwork and responsibility to leadership and self-discipline, said Zartman.
The things they practice in marching band are, "going to serve them well when they get out of school," he added.
I've been out of school for ... awhile. But I hope the 240 students still in the Hudson High School Marching Band -- some of them rookie 14-year-olds and others, seasoned senior veterans -- carry a measure of their musical experience onto the field that is their future, as I have.
For now, don't miss a beat. The team, the cheerleaders, the crowd and the parents selling hot chocolate at the concession stand need you.
March on.
For more information about the Hudson High School Marching Band or related fundraisers, call 330-653-1416.
E-mail: aniswander@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-686-3947