Eden Cho

Senior drum major Grace Bai stands on a podium while conducting the marching band during an after-school practice. Bai conducted the first two parts of the show at the 36th annual Oakton Classic on Oct. 18. “In order to lead the band musically, we [have to] keep the band together,” Bai said.

A triumphant fanfare resounded through the Oakton High School football field as Jefferson’s Marching Colonials performed their show for a panel of judges at the 36th annual Oakton Classic on Saturday, Oct. 18.

The band placed second overall in their division, as well as first for the Best Percussion and Best Music caption awards.

“Every competition that [the marching band does] is just a step along the way,” band director Stephen Ballard said. “They don’t just have one performance like the curricular band does with their concerts—they perform 10 to 12 times during a season. They’ve been doing a great job.”

Each show that the marching band performs is uniquely written, with a variety of pieces and creative elements that circulate around a central theme.

“The shows are custom-written each year,” Ballard said. “We have a team of people that get together to discuss the concept of the show, the story arc, what the meaning is behind it, the moods that we want to create and the music we want to use to do that.”

This year’s show is titled “Shadows in the Alleys of the City.” It is centered around an urban landscape, with various props that resemble shadows in the night such as black fabric.

“We picked music that has a little bit more of a jazz edge to it, because jazz is very deeply rooted in urban tradition and culture,” Ballard said. “The props have graffiti on them and look like the sides of buildings. A lot of the smaller props are black fabric, [which] are meant to look like shadows.”

One of the most crucial components of a marching band are the drum majors, who conduct and act as leaders. Senior Grace Bai and junior Arin Kim are the current drum majors of the Jefferson Marching Colonials.

“During rehearsals, [Kim] and I [will] either be running the metronome in the back or on the podium conducting,” Bai said. “There are three separate parts of the band, the battery– the drums in the back–, the horn line and the front ensemble—[who are] the people who stand still and play [large percussion instruments] like marimbas. Our job is to try and keep those three parts of the band together.”

The marching band—which rehearses almost every day after school—has been working hard to make their show the best that it can be.

“[Oakton is] a pretty local competition,” Bai said. “We’ve been doing a lot of rehearsal and everything is coming together really well. At this point in the season, we’re really just focusing on the little things.”

Marching band competition days typically consist of show warm-ups—which are simplified visual routines—and music warm-ups—which Bai and Kim typically conduct. After, the Marching Colonials transition into showtime.

“My favorite part of the competition is always the performance,” Bai said. “It’s the feeling of anticipation right before you start. When [Kim] and I go up on the podiums and begin the performance by saluting, I know we’re really going to get into it.”

When things don’t go as expected, the marching band must adapt quickly to keep the performance running smoothly.

“We were missing one of the bass drummers [at the competition],” sophomore bass drum player Sir Pharaoh Carter said. “So, we had a missing part that was pretty important for the performance. The rehearsal before, we had to prepare for that, but I think at the performance we did pretty well.”
From balancing schedules to learning how to work with a group, marching band teaches students skills that they can use in high school and beyond.

“I learned a lot about public speaking and presentation skills,” Bai said. “Before I was a drum major, I was actually kind of quiet, so being a drum major has taught me a lot. Being [a drum major] also helped me [learn] teamwork. You never really act alone.”

Marching band also involves lengthy rehearsals that require students to march for hours on end.
“The main thing I learned [from marching band] is patience,” Carter said. “It takes a while to fully learn all the music and put it all together [at] the end.”

Although winning awards and doing well in competitions is impressive, that is not what marching band is all about.

“Our end goal has nothing to do with being good at marching band,” Ballard said. “It has everything to do with using marching band, music and performance as a tool to help students realize the best in themselves.”