Spring Break
Joys Of Band Spread In Band Day 2006
Timothy Bleasdale
Issue date: 10/9/06 Section: News
More than 450 high school band students converged on Storrs Saturday morning for Band Day 2006. The day started off rather chilly, but the air was filled with enthusiasm as the high schoolers cheered the beginning of Band Day.
Band Day is an event the UConn Marching Band (UCMB) has been putting on for more than 25 years. In the early 1990s, Band Day began with a parade from the Music Building to Memorial Stadium. Along the way, UCMB staff evaluated the high school marching bands' performance. The parade was followed with a music rehearsal in preparation for a joint UCMB and high school bands performance at the half time show of a football game later that afternoon.
Over the years, Band Day has changed quite a bit. In an attempt to improve the overall Band Day experience, Dr David Mills, UCMB's current director, reformatted the program. For logistical reasons, the opening parade was dropped and replaced by a UCMB show for the high schoolers in Memorial Stadium.
"It's hard to believe, but many of the [high school band students] had never seen another marching band," Mills said. "This is especially true here in Connecticut, where there are many small high schools that have neither a football team nor a marching band." He adds that Band Day provided a valuable opportunity to many of these students whose band would normally only perform in Memorial Day parades.
After the performance, UCMB members would conduct clinics with the high school bands on the basics of marching and playing while moving. The clinics included one-on-one attention from UCMB members in learning the new skills.
"This proved to be one of the most valuable parts of the event since many of the students had never had the opportunity to learn the basics of marching properly at home," Mills said.
Then putting the new skills to use, the UCMB would take to the field with the high school bands and create different formation while playing the music they had learned that morning.
Band Day is an event the UConn Marching Band (UCMB) has been putting on for more than 25 years. In the early 1990s, Band Day began with a parade from the Music Building to Memorial Stadium. Along the way, UCMB staff evaluated the high school marching bands' performance. The parade was followed with a music rehearsal in preparation for a joint UCMB and high school bands performance at the half time show of a football game later that afternoon.
Over the years, Band Day has changed quite a bit. In an attempt to improve the overall Band Day experience, Dr David Mills, UCMB's current director, reformatted the program. For logistical reasons, the opening parade was dropped and replaced by a UCMB show for the high schoolers in Memorial Stadium.
"It's hard to believe, but many of the [high school band students] had never seen another marching band," Mills said. "This is especially true here in Connecticut, where there are many small high schools that have neither a football team nor a marching band." He adds that Band Day provided a valuable opportunity to many of these students whose band would normally only perform in Memorial Day parades.
After the performance, UCMB members would conduct clinics with the high school bands on the basics of marching and playing while moving. The clinics included one-on-one attention from UCMB members in learning the new skills.
"This proved to be one of the most valuable parts of the event since many of the students had never had the opportunity to learn the basics of marching properly at home," Mills said.
Then putting the new skills to use, the UCMB would take to the field with the high school bands and create different formation while playing the music they had learned that morning.
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