SLHS Band Prepares for New Season

What seems seamless at halftime of an October football game actually starts out as a tedious and sweaty exercise in August.

The South Lakes High School marching band began practice last week. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,  students are spread across the blacktop, listening to an electronic timebeat and remembering to step, march, play, turn and slide all at once.

"We break it down into different elements," says band director Grayson Fore, who is beginning his 12th year at South Lakes. "We go through the drill movements so often. Making mistakes becomes a safety issue. We don't want them running into one another."

That means a lot of time under the hot August sun, repeating the steps to the time of an electronic metronome and a sometimes exasperated leader.

"You only have two beats," one of the band assistants reminds the students via loudspeaker. "That is really fast. Make your foot push off somewhere."

"It takes a lot of concentration," says Jordanna Bergman, the band director at Langston Hughes Middle School. Bergman is also helping the South Lakes band get ready for the season.

"They are working on drill steps, the right posture, how to march in tempo and learning to play music. It takes as much focus as playing a sport - and as much practice. Anyone who has ever been in marching band knows about the long summer days."

Senior Ian Anderson is one of two drum majors - the other is junior Blair Brake - who lead practice from high on a platform. Anderson was fomerly a percussionist. Being a drum major one wears a lot of hats, he says.

"The main role people see us is conducting," he says. "But we have a lot of leadership responsibilities. We have to make sure the band is ready to rehearse."