FHS band focuses on fitness prior to parade
Posted on Monday, January 2, 2006
FAYETTEVILLE — Dozens of thoughts will churn through the minds of the 200-plus members of the Fayetteville High School Marching Band as they get in position to start the Rose Parade this morning. Foremost among them is fin-1 ishing the 5 / 2-mile parade route through the streets of Pasadena, Calif., without dropping out. Imagine marching that distance while blowing into a saxophone or tuba. Or pounding on
1 drums. Or twirling flags. For 2 / 2 hours. Marching bands occasionally lose performers who become exhausted in long parades such as the Rose Parade, said Barry Harper, Fayetteville High’s band director. The parade begins at 10 a. m. CST on ABC, NBC and other networks.
His band has focused on physical fitness since August, he said.
“Marching band itself is a very physical activity,” Harper said. “We really encouraged them to take a look at how they were eating and exercising regularly.
“ When you march, you have to stay in step,” he said. “It cannot be at your own pace. That’s a little bit more of a challenge. You can’t stop and take a rest.” Fayetteville’s regimen must be working. It was the only high school band to remain intact at
1 the finish of the 3 / 2-mile Fiesta Bowl Parade on Dec. 31, 2004, Harper said. Harper and the school’s assistant band directors were planning to apply for this year’s Rose Parade in 2004, and they wanted to use the Fiesta Parade in Phoenix as a benchmark, he said.
“They didn’t know it at the time, but we were using the Fiesta Parade as our test pilot trip,” Harper said. “We were thrilled at the end of it that everybody had got to the end.”
Brinn Jones, a senior clarinet player, said the band “passed the test” at the Fiesta Parade.
She is fit enough to march several miles while playing her instrument but Jones said she has to monitor her breathing.
“You have to push air through your horn in order to get the sound out,” Jones said. “You have to stagger your breathing. It’s like exhaling for 16 seconds, then taking a breath.”
She sneaks breaths through the sides of her mouth to keep going, she said.
The first mile will be the toughest for the Fayetteville band, Harper said. That’s the so-called “TV zone,” in which all the bands must play continuously for the American audience of 40 million expected to tune into the spectacle.
Once the band gets through the “zone,” the brass and woodwind sections will alternate songs with the percussion section. That gives each group a few minutes to rest their lungs while marching.
The marching band from Ohio’s Pickerington Central High School will perform for the third time at the Rose Parade this year. The band practices continuous play during each rehearsal to prepare for the parade, band director Mike Sewell said.
“It’s extremely boring, but the idea is that they have to maintain the musical excellence,” he said.
Band members also join workouts led by a physical trainer, Sewell said.
An estimated 1 million people will line the streets to watch the parade in person. The Fayetteville band members will learn that adrenaline will kick in and aid their performance, Sewell said.
“It goes by so fast, you don’t even know what’s happened,” he said.
This is the first trip to the Rose Parade for the Fayetteville High marching band and only the second invitation for an Arkansas high school in the 117-year history of the parade, said Linda Scogin, a parent who does publicity for the Fayetteville band.
The Jonesboro High band participated in the parade in the early 1980 s, band director Steve Warner said.
Twenty-five marching bands, including 15 from high schools, are scheduled to take part in this year’s Rose Parade.
Fayetteville High is scheduled to follow the American Honda float, roughly in the middle of the lineup, according to the official order of appearance on the parade’s Web site : www. tournamentofroses. com. That position puts the band two places behind the parade’s grand marshal, U. S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The band collected $ 260, 000 through fundraising, donations and parent sponsorships to cover the expenses of the trip. Each of the 207 students in the band was asked to raise $ 850. They traveled to southern California aboard five charter buses that left Fayetteville at 6 a. m. Tuesday. Before the Rose Parade, Fayetteville was scheduled to participate in Bandfest, a three-day event associated with the parade that allows some of the marching bands to perform their field shows.
To contact this reporter : cbranam@arkansasonline. com
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