October 12, 2005
Marching bands strut their stuff
More than 1,200 musicians from 18 regional schools perform at annual Thirlby Marching Exhibition in Traverse City
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
From Motown to Bond, swing to movie hits, the Thirlby Marching Exhibition 2005 had it all.
Monday night, more than 1,200 musicians from 18 regional schools performed their halftime show and wowed each other and the audience. Trumpeter Eric Davis, a sophomore at West High School, began the show by playing the National Anthem.
The stands were packed with between 1,200-1,500 enthusiastic listeners - parents, relatives, schoolmates - not counting other off-duty band members who reveled in the acts of their colleagues.
"It's a cool audience because they come to see the bands," said Summer Coe, a senior marching French horn player with the Grayling High School band. "I like seeing what everybody has been working on - we're all in the same boat."
At the band expo, waves of appreciation for the music and moves emanate from the stands for each band. Each 15-minute presentation is followed by wild applause, led by other players who know what it takes to make a smooth show happen.
"It is a lot different than a football game," said Joel Janik, a tenth-grade student at West High School.
Janik, who played last year in the expo as part of the St. Francis High School band, added that band members enjoy everyone else's show.
"It is fun to just see all the bands and what they do," he said.
Students at Grayling High School instituted a new policy this year where the seniors get to choose the halftime show's theme. The seniors chose a Motown motif and the mid-size band marched to the Jackson 5, Diana Ross and the Temptations.
"It is a lot more fun to do upbeat music that people know and can rock out to," said Coe.
Going from smallest to largest, the expo began with Johannesburg-Lewiston High School and wound up, as it does every year, with the 200-plus member band from Petoskey. The non-competitive event, which is more than 20 years old, raised $4,200 for the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association.
West High School hosts the Band Expo every year as a public service to the marching band community. In August, Pat Brumbaugh, director of bands, sends out information to schools around the region and collects registration forms and fees.
She also helps make sure that the dozens of parent volunteers who help the event run smoothly are signed up and ready to go. These parents assist with parking, ticket sales and cueing the bands for both practice - two bands warm up while one is on the field - and their turn in the limelight.
"It would be impossible without all the parents," she said, noting that 16 students also assist during the event. "It usually runs on time and runs really smoothly."
From her perch in the press box, Brumbaugh said it is both thrilling and educational to watch everyone's halftime show.
"I absolutely get ideas, for both shows themselves and the moves and the music," she said. "I have a lot of fun seeing all the bands and all the band directors get together in the press box."
Drum majors for each band provide student leadership and most schools fielded two co-drum majors who either shared conducting duties or played when not leading. Charles Hughes of Grayling said he has enjoyed stepping into a leading role this fall.
"It's more fun and it's a little bit more work, but you feel like you're doing more and being a better role model," said the junior who also plays percussion.