Every year in my town, on Memorial Day, the town puts on a
parade that goes through the center of town, and many locals come to watch. I
used to be a part of this parade when I was a girl scout (way back when…).
Recently, the Trottier 7th and 8th grade band has marched
in this parade as a way to give back to the community. I’ve watched them
practice marching and playing their music around the school a few times now,
and on Monday, they will be marching the real thing. That means they have to
not only pay attention to the music, but also keep their marching lines (rows
and columns) straight.
The band is rotating through two songs throughout the
parade, “We Are Family” and an Armed Forces piece. They were practicing those
pieces today in band, as well as the four other pieces they would play for the
concert next week. Knowing only how to play the clarinet, I was reading the
clarinet music with some of the players and after each piece, I’d give them
pointers on how to play some parts of their music better. I hope they didn’t
think I was creepy…
The band is sounding very good lately. They play with a lot
of sound and the trumpets during these marches (because they have the melody)
really stand out. This band doesn’t sound like a middle school band. They’re
very good. My old clarinet teacher told me that she taught at Needham High
School and commented on how their middle school band had a strong foundation: they
got a Gold Medal at the MICCA music festival this year. So did this band, so
that’s pretty outstanding.
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