March of the Bands

Last, last Thursday (aka 9-9-10…aka a looonnngggg time ago…) was the beginning of the “Dia del Independia” week…aka a FULL WEEK of getting to hear the band at 6 am every day – woo! Since there was no school, all of the teachers were required to accompany the students to Parramos where we would then be in charge of a parade. WHAT?? There were about 9 bands who marched around the tiny square that is Parramos, before marching down the road right into NPH for a showcase of each band.

Sam and I arrived at school at 7…aka when we were TOLD to arrive at school. When we got there the band was practicing in their formation. It was…loud. And needed tuning… This year marks the very FIRST year that NPH purchased instruments other than drums for the band. Instead of just having a band with snares, bass drums, cymbals, xylophones, and wood blocks, we are fortunate to have newly acquired trombones, trumpets, tenor saxophones, and clarinets. Lucky us. Since it is almost every students first year playing their instrument, they are still warming up to the ideas of tuning, hitting the correct notes, and playing in rhythm with the other students. Needless to say, what comes out of their instruments is a sort of cacophony of random sounds over one another…maybe we would be better off with just the drums??

When we arrived in Parramos we were each assigned a band to assist. I was in charge of La Escuela del Valle de los Pinos (aka Pine Valley Middle School.) Our job was to make sure the bands didn’t get too close to one another or too far away. Heaven forbid! At first it just sounded ridiculous…and then I realized that it was exactly like being drum major all over again, 6 years later! Weird. All I kept thinking was that Shirley Rush would NEVER have been pleased with the “lines” that were formed, the bands’ spacing, or well, any of the playing for that matter!

Anyway, it turned out to be a lot of fun, although VERY exhausting, incredibly hot, and wayyyyyy too sunny. The bands marched through Parramos and then returned to NPH where they were each given 10 minutes to perform a piece they had prepared. It reminded me A LOT of Hofstra for all you marching band people out there, just with a lot less bands and a lot less tuning…