In the News.....

08/06/10

DHS Band - In the News...

Omar Garcia, right, Omar Cruz, middle, and co-drum major Amy Hernandez practice a rotational marching exercise Thursday morning at Dalton High School. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)

 

Members of the Dalton High band practice Thursday morning. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)

 

Caitlin McDonald plays the bass drum as she marches with the Dalton High band during their practice Thursday morning. The band is practicing morning and evening each day this week as part of their band camp. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)

 

Zach Barton keeps the beat as he plays the snare drum and marches with the Dalton High band during their morning practice as part of the school's week-long band camp. (Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen)

 

3/22/10

Savannah St Patrick's Day Parade

 

Photos:     Parade Rehearsal            Savannah1            Savannah2

 

 

 

Strike up the band

Drum majors have task of leading ‘troops’

Erik Green
Dalton Daily Citizen

For a high school drum major, everything in the world but the show disappears for about 10 minutes every Friday night during football season.
Conversations in the bleachers, kids laughing about who knows what and the thumping of their own heart fades away.
“I don’t see people in the stands,” said Southeast High School drum major Joanna Jinright. “It’s just the band. It’s the only thing I pay attention to.”
“All the pain I’d felt in practice is gone,” said Brittney Brackett, Northwest Whitfield High’s assistant drum major. “I hear the band, I see (drum major Lauren Snowden), but everything else is gone.”
It’s their time to be in control, to prove to their band director, their band mates, the crowd — and perhaps even to themselves — that they have the ability to lead the band.
“My work is expressing what the band is playing through my conducting. And if I’ve done a good show and done it well, my arms will be hurting,” said Dalton High co-drum major Aubree Stewart. “When I give the band commands and they take it and run with it and I hear them producing all that sound, I get goose bumps.”
The drum major is the marching band’s version of a military field commander, charged with directing the “troops” to the right spot and ensuring they do their jobs correctly.
Off the field, they help other band members learn the music and help the band director as needed.
“It has to be somebody that’s been with the band a while, usually a junior or senior. It’s rare to run across somebody that’s ready as a sophomore,” Murray County High School band director Mike Weaver said. “It has happened, but it’s very unusual.”
Dalton’s Stewart is one such exception. Stewart is a sophomore.
“Last year I put a lot of effort into my performing and was dedicated to the band and had a good attitude towards it, and that helped me out a lot,” Stewart said.
Like other drum majors, Stewart and co-drum major Anna Orr had to work hard to get the positions.
“It’s based on the way our tryouts are set up,” Orr said. “It’s anybody's game. They (independent judges) don’t know anything about us, and it’s not like they can say, ‘Oh, you’re a senior, I’ll pick you.’”
Some bands have one drum major, while others have two or more, something that is a relatively new phenomenon, Weaver said.
Most drum majors keep their post just one year, since the majority are seniors, Weaver said. They are expected to be strong musicians with an understanding of how the entire band works.
Instructing their peers and being seen as an authority figure isn’t always easy, according to Northwest’s Snowden.
“I feel I have good communication with the band, and you can’t be hardnosed all the time,” said Snowden, who marched as a percussionist before becoming drum major.
“But there’s sort of an unwritten rule that when you become drum major, everybody quits liking you. But I believe respect is given where it’s earned.”
“It’s difficult because if anything goes wrong, the band points a finger at you, whether it’s your fault or not,” Orr said. “(On the field) you have to be able to block out things, like if somebody is out of tempo, you can’t let it throw you off or the whole band will be messed up.”
Mitch McCarsky, one of two drum majors at Murray County High School, said the position is difficult because he has to arrange practices, help Weaver with songs and sometimes even mediate squabbles among sections.
On the field, he says it’s an even harder job.
“You have to try and keep the band in tempo and think about where everybody is going and their cues,” said McCarsky, who has played trumpet, flugelhorn and mellophone. “It’s a whole bunch of mental stuff.”
He and fellow drum major Katherine Joga critique each other, which helps them prepare for a show, McCarsky said.
“There are even occasions where bands have up to three” drum majors, Weaver said. “Typically college bands have two to four ... The second and third drum majors position themselves in different locations on the field during drills.”
Jinright, a trumpet player, said he believes it is easier for the Southeast band to have one drum major to avoid confusion.
But being alone can be a bit nerve-racking, she said.
“There’s more pressure on you,” Jinright said. “If you don’t do well, it’s strictly your fault.”
But when the band does better than expected at a competition, the reward can also be greater.
“It feels good,” Jinright said. “It means a lot and makes you feel more secure about what you’re doing.”

Claudia Says Hello from Germany

Wednesday Dec. 22, 2004

DHS Band Holiday Concert

photo by Matt Hamilton

Dalton Daily Citizen-News / Monday Dec. 20, 2004

 

Dalton Christmas Parade 2004

photo by Lido Vizzutti

Chattanooga News Free Press / Friday Dec. 3, 2004

 

Editorial Comments

Dalton Daily Citizen-News / Sunday Dec. 5, 2004

DHS Band Has New Web Site

by Ben Sutton

Cats' Paws / Dalton Daily Citizen-News / Wednesday Oct. 6, 2004

 

What time is practice? How can a former band member keep in touch with band happenings? When is the next competition? Answers to these questions and much more can be found on the Dalton High School Catamount band's Web site. There was some information available online when Mr. David Henry took over as band director this year, but "I wanted to create an online community that will help in our mission to connect with parents and students, and reconnect with alumni," Mr. Henry said. The webmaster for the site is Mr. Michael Jordan, an associate professor at Dalton State College and a band parent. "We are hoping to involve students to help with artwork and the layout of the site," added the band director.

 

On Saturday, the band scored an "Excellent" rating and the Color Guard, Drum Majors, and Percussion took home "Superior" ratings at the Super Bowl of Sound Marching Band Contest in Carrollton. Details about the scores and a video of the band's performance are already available on the site.

 

Not only can current band students check the practice schedule and chat using band forums, but alumni can register for band information as well. "Our alumni directory is growing," said Mr. Henry, who is also an alumnus of the band. In the future, the alumni section will include reunion information, a directory, and a forum to chat and share old band photos. Currently, pictures of the band from 1973, 1978, and 1980 are on the Web site.

 

The most popular and most memorable band club fundraiser was the Straw Hat Follies. Although the band no longer wears the straw hats that were the Dalton band trademark for many years, the Straw Hat Follies will make a comeback. "Right now, we're polling the community to see if there is enough interest," explained Mr. Henry. "It takes a large number of people to make the Follies work. We want to bring back this fundraiser because it is another part of our heritage and our past that have sort of been forgotten. The Follies were a lot of fun." The people of the community were the performers and that was always an attraction for others to come and see them. "I'm surprised it ever fell by the wayside," added the new band director. The Web site has a Straw Hat Follies section for those who wish to volunteer or find out more about them.

 

For all the information concerning the DHS band past and present, go to daltonband.org.

DHS band prepares for Halftime Performance

photo by Matt Hamilton

Dalton Daily Citizen-News / Wednesday Sept. 15, 2004

'New' DHS band director played at the Super Bowl

by Ben Sutton

Cats' Paws Faculty Spotlight / Dalton Daily Citizen-News / Wednesday Sept. 8, 2004

 

Meet the new Dalton High School Band Director who is not really new to DHS. Mr. David Henry, a 1978 graduate of Dalton High School, recently returned to the school to offer his musical skills to his alma mater.

 

For several years, Mr. Henry was the band director of a successful music program at Stockbridge High School in Henry County. "Since 1998, I have been running my own business consulting with other band directors," he explained. "I worked with them on show design, drill design, technology, musical arrangements, and implementation." He worked with high school directors, as well as college and drum and bugle corps directors.

 

"My love of music started at an early age," he continued. "My mother played the piano and sang and had me at church choir all the time. I chose music as a career because of my experiences in Dalton Public Schools. I was lucky to be able to take a piano class once a week at Brookwood School." He started taking band in the fifth grade under the direction of recently retired, long-time band director Mr. Mickey Fisher. "I think what it amounted to was that if I became a band director, I would not have to give up band," Mr. Henry said.

 

Mr. Henry has many interesting experiences as a musician. A highlight of his career was a pick-up musician for singer Travis Tritt at the 2000 Super Bowl in Atlanta. "Nothing I had ever done before had prepared me for walking out in front of 80,000 people and playing," Mr. Henry said. Mr. Henry was chosen to play at the Super Bowl because one of his clients for his consulting business was the manager of bands at Turner Field. Tritt was off tour and his musicians were all involved in other things, so he contacted the Super Bowl organizers and asked them to find some musicians for him. "Chris Moore, the manager of bands for Turner Field, who is also the band director at Georgia Tech, called me and asked if I would like a gig," Moore said it did not pay a lot, but that it was a really good gig. Mr. Henry took it immediately when he found out that he would play with Travis Tritt. "That was the biggest experience of my life professionally," Mr. Henry said.