Preparations and Performance
Instruments in hand and prepared for an action packed weekend Greater Latrobe Marching band headed to the Nation’s Capital for an end of season celebration and performance.
After weeks of preparing after school the band was finally ready to hit the road and travel to Washington DC for the performance that will wrap up their 2024-25 season.
The musicians worked hard to be as ready as possible, individually preparing music and working together after school. “In after school rehearsals we mostly worked in sectionals, with other members of our instrumental parts. We just had to learn and rehearse the music, the color guard had a lot more to do.” said sophomore percussionist Rowan Watson.
While this performance was of the marching band they did something a little different this year. While typically the band will march in a parade. This year they had a standing performance, in front of the Lincoln memorial. Having this form of performance had its challenges and benefits. The musicians were able to sit back in rehearsals and focus on the music. But that’s not to say they didn’t face any challenges at all.
Some sections found it harder staying still while performing, Senior Josie Kubas in the percussion section says, “We typically keep time with our feet when we march so the drum line had to practice standing still while we played.”
Meanwhile sophomore Ava George from the trumpet section claimed, “It was easier because we didn’t have to multi-task, we could focus on the music in front of us.”
The opinion of the color guard however was almost unanimous. The colorguard more than anyone else in the band is not conditioned to standing still while performing so their entire performance had to be choreography, “The colorguard reworking their show made the performance even better, because it was new and fresh the guard had a fun time performing it and the audience enjoyed it even more,” said Watson
Every person in the band had to overcome one challenge or another. In the end the performance was a spectacle. As the band played their halftime show from the football season, Rocky Horror Picture Show’s The Time Warp, Dream On by Aerosmith, Don’t Stop by Fleetwood Mac, and Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. They also added some new music that fit with the surroundings including the addition of the American nation march, National Emblem, composed by Edwin Eugene Bagley. The students also included a few of their stand tunes to the performance for example Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.
The surrounding audience grew larger and larger, with just some parents ending up having attracted nearly 100 people who stopped to watch the Latrobe travelers’ performance.
Day 1
The students didn’t go all that way just to perform, plenty of fun coming up. The first day of the trip started bright and early as the students arrived at school eager to head to DC.
“I feel like [on the bus] there we were mostly chill. We weren’t super energetic yet but we were excited the whole time. The energy definitely picked up as the day went on,” said senior flutist Maddie Sloan.
Each annual trip the band takes, there are certain traditions upheld, such as going on a dinner cruise, and visiting a given city’s Hard Rock Cafe. While this year withheld those rituals, this stop is where things are different than in past years. The wind ensemble, the highest level band in Greater Latrobe School District, was also offered the opportunity to go along on the trip, encompassing the fact that a majority of the wind ensemble is in marching band, the few members of the Wind ensemble were offered the opportunity to attend. This offer was put out as the very first stop was a small clinic with George Mason University Band Director, Professor Maiello.
“He made sure that he made the rehearsal completely about us and what we needed. He didn’t come in with a list of things that he thought we needed. The entire rehearsal was catered to us,” said sophomore French horn Leah Olson.
This was an excellent opportunity for the wind ensemble to hear and learn from a fresh set of eyes and ears to get critiques on repertoire and performance. “He made sure that we knew he was giving criticism, not yelling at us,” said senior drum major and clarinetist Jack Dixon.
What made this experience so memorable for most wind ensemble students was deeper than just his musical knowledge and advice, but more importantly, Professor Maiello’s advice to the musicians as young adults. Maiello told the students, “Stay excited, no matter what you become,become excited about it. I think being excited and being energetic in life is so important. Find where your passion is, and follow your passion.”
“He talked a lot about emotion and adding emotion to the music we’re playing and that really helped us play better,” added Dixon.
After the clinic, the musicians were dressed to impress and in the audience ready to watch the National Symphony Orchestra perform in the John F. Kennedy Center for performing arts.
The symphony ran for around two musical hours before the students boarded the buses one last time for day one. Already exhausted from the busy action packed day one back at the hotel, everyone went to sleep for the night ready for the busy day planned tomorrow.
Some musicians were really impressed with the symphony and the musicians, Junior flutist Elise Wolfgang raved, “The pianist, he was really good. His hands moved so fast and he didn’t have sheet music. It was crazy,” said Wolfgang.
Day 2
The marching band kick started their day with their performance and wasted no time transitioning into the events planned. This is where the performers on the trip were granted the freedom to explore the national mall. The national mall isn’t a shopping mall like some band members thought it is the home to iconic memorials and museums housed in Washington DC.
The band had the opportunity to independently explore the museums there such as the Air & Space Museum, the National Gallery of art, the National Museum of the American Indians, and the other neighboring Smithsonian museums.
They also got the opportunity to walk around a few parks and explore a few monuments. The Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and any other memorabilia to be on the National Mall. ”Having the freedom to explore the National Mall in smaller groups really made the trip, not only because we were about to spend time with the people we wanted and exploring the parts of the Smithsonian museums that interested us specifically added a lot of depth and meaning to the trip,” said junior trombonist Jack O’Neil.
To wrap up the day the travelers climbed aboard the Potomac dinner cruise dressed to the nines. After some quick group pictures it took mere minutes for the DJ to spring into action and the teenagers to take the dance floor. Many students claim that this was the highlight of the trip. For example O’Neil said, “ The dinner cruise and dance was the highlight of the trip for me, arguably better than homecoming…. It was a smaller, more intimate group dancing with mostly my close friends from [the] band. It was absolutely a great time.”
Day 3
A walking tour throughout the national mall. Similar to the adventuring they had the day prior but this time the musicians got the opportunity to walk around with tour guides. The guides were able to give background and historical relevance to each monument. These guides were also able to answer any questions that the students had. “ This part of the trip might have just been Mr. Czekaj’s secret way to make the trip educational, but I think that we didn’t really notice because we were having fun the entire time,” said Olson.
During the trip the students learned about World War II, the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, the Korean War.
After the tour the time all the students had been dreading finally came. It was a bittersweet moment as the trip came to an end. The weekend was long and exhausting but that did not stop lasting memories from being made. The bus ride was somber and more or less pretty sleepy as the students had almost 3 hours to reflect on the last few days’ events, bringing the 2024-25 Marching band trip to an end.
