“A marching band performance is like a ballet,” said Middle Township High School Band Director, Vincent DuBeau.
Both require creative choreography and costuming, and rigorous physical training. But there are some differences.
For example, ballet dancers are rarely required to perform on a rugged football field or to march en pointe along a parade route in bone-chilling temperatures.
And of course, DuBeau noted. “You are performing the music and the motion at the same time.”
DuBeau took over leadership of Middle’s well-established program this summer.
The Panther Marching band has a long history of excellence, having placed in the top three of the Atlantic Coast Championships every year for the last 28 years, and in 2006 and 2007, they came in first.
Those were some big shoes to fill.
Plus, DuBeau faced a massive reorganization. Some of the band’s veteran members opted out this year with the departure of the former director, and an enthusiastic influx of new freshman still had a lot to learn.
“There was a lot of upheaval,” said Lisa DiBruno, whose son, Ian, came in as freshman drummer this year. “People were dropping tubas and falling over their feet.”
It was discouraging, DiBruno said. And the band seemed a long way from pulling together the harmonious ballet they aspired to perform.
But they stuck with it the only way they knew how—practice, practice, practice, with hot hours spent practicing over the summer. It was a grueling two-week band camp, and 20 hours a week of rehearsals leading up to the competition season.
The Panther Marching Band logged in some 280 hours of rehearsal this year, according to DuBeau.
In the end, it paid off.
Their 2008 show, titled F=ma (appropriately named for Newton’s law for calculating motion) eventually took off, and the “new” band placed third overall in the championships, and the percussion line placed first.
“As parents, we were so proud of them, and what they accomplished,” DiBruno said.
DuBeau says with one successful year under his belt he still has big plans for the Panther’s band.
“My hope is to bring the symphonic program to a higher level to where the marching band has been for so long,” he said.
To celebrate their success and to raise money to further develop the program, the Panthers Parents Booster Club are holding a fundraiser at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center Friday, Dec. 12.
The event showcases the talents of the musicians in Middle’s band program. “In Plain View,” a popular local rock band comprised of young Middle Township will open the show.
The Panthers will perform their award winning show for the audience, and “The Piano Man,” a tribute band, will perform Billy Joel favorites.
DuBeau will be putting down his conductor’s baton to play saxophone with the band. But don’t expect him to pirouette.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children. For more information, call 609-463-1924.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
