October 16, 2002

School bands on the march

West High hosts Thirlby Marching Band Exhibition

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       Drumbeats reverberated far into the night as 29 marching bands from around the region gathered Monday evening for the annual Thirlby Marching Band Exhibition. As the temperatures dropped with the setting sun, the home bleachers of Thirlby Field filled with musicians, parents and friends of these bands.
      The non-competitive exhibition was hosted this year by Traverse City West High School's marching band and sanctioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association. The MSBOA also sent an adjudicator to provide each band with a written evaluation of their program and performance.
      The bands ranged in size from 30 students in the Frankfort High School band to the 215-member Petoskey Marching Northmen. Marching bands from Traverse City West and Central High schools participated, as well as St. Francis High School's Marching band. Teams from as far away as St. Ignace, Cheboygan and Grayling came to march.
      Organizer Robert DeGabriele, a parent of a West High School marching band member, said that smaller schools who participate can experience the roar of an enthusiastic crowd of packed Thirlby Field bleachers first hand.
      "For a lot of the smaller schools, this is their first opportunity to play in front of a thousand high school kids and anywhere from 500-1000 adults," DeGabriele noted. "That is five times the number in the audience that they are used to."
      The program moved along like clockwork, progressing through the evening from the smallest band to the largest. Each band had 15 minutes to perform. The night culminated with a performance by the Percussion Works Project, a performing ensemble from the Hohner Institute of Percussion at Alma College.
      For the students involved, the exhibition is a chance to both strut their stuff to their peers and pick up tips for improvement.
      "You see what's good about the other bands and what we need to do to improve, like our lines, moves and sounds" said Jordan Parsons, a senior snare drum player with Elk Rapids High School marching band. "It is also really great to see other bands' impressions about how they like our show."
      Fun was the buzzword Monday night as students gathered early to cheer on their rivals and socialize.
      "Every band comes here to show what they've got and everyone gets cheered," said Sabrina Yagle, a tenth-grade student at Central High School who plays the clarinet. "It's always fun."
      John Campbell, band director for Central High School, noted that exhibition is of the bands, for the bands and by the bands. With roots reaching back 20 years or more, the Thirlby Exhibition is a mainstay on area marching bands' calendars.
      "This whole thing was started to give these bands a chance to see each other," Campbell said. "The kids really get psyched up when they can perform for their peers."
      Dozens of parent volunteers - 'band moms' and 'band dads' - from West High school helped orchestrate the event, parking school buses, queuing up bands and selling tickets, T-shirts and food.
      Many of the volunteers come back year after year to help as their children move through the band program. Caron Alpers' two children have come up through the band program, one graduating last year and one a 11th grade student. She was back at Thirlby Field for the eighth year, this time selling tickets.
      "I think the biggest thing I enjoy about the show is the community, that all these bands, all these kids of this age, have this in common," said Alpers, whose son, James, is a trumpet player who kicked off the evening by playing a solo National Anthem. "For the seniors, this is one of their last chances to shine."
      DeGabriele pulled the event together over the past two weeks, gathering donations of phones, cones and volunteer time while sweating over myriad logistics. The hosting duties rotate among participating schools, though the event is always held in Traverse City. When West High School was tapped this year, DeGabriele said he was pleased to help.
      "Hearing the crowd cheer from the field, the chills running up and down your spine," said DeGabriele, who has helped on the field moving equipment during football halftime shows. "Imagine if you can do this for your child or anyone else's child, how could you say no?"
     
Herald photos by Garret Leiva
Traverse City West High School hosted the annual Thirlby Exhibition Monday evening featuring 29 marching bands consisting of more than 1,300 high school musicians from northern Michigan. This event, sanctioned by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, is a celebration of high school marching bands. Some of the bands performing included (above) Kalkaska, (below) Mancelona, (second below) St. Ignace-Lasalle and Charlevoix (bottom). Traverse City St. Francis, Central and West high schools also played for the crowd at Thirlby Field. The night’s guest performance was the Percussion Works Project, a 26-member marching drum line from the Hohner Institute of Percussion at Alma College.