13 December 2012
BAND: Poly’s band has its own culture.
By Tyler Demshki, Staff writer
Most of us recognize them from football games or the Homecoming parade. Some of us know them personally, and have heard them talk about their crazy hours. “They,” of course, are the Poly marching band members.
Comprised of about 170 students arranged into sections of flutes, clarinets, horns, baritones, trombones and other instruments, the Poly band is as varied as it is large. While most students recognize them from the aforementioned football games, the band does have several other events throughout the year. It competes at field show tournaments and occasionally performs at other events like parades, such as the upcoming one at Disneyland on 23 January 2013. Of course, all of this work takes practice, which becomes a huge part of the students’ lives.
Band practice usually starts about two weeks before the school year, scheduled from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. on Thursdays and from 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Fridays. Additionally, the band has four-hour Saturday practices at the beginning of its season. Once school begins, they have regular practice for both a normal class period and for some time after school. During this practice time, band members have to not only learn to play their instruments but also work on their coordinated marching, which is no small feat.
For some students, however, band is more than just an extracurricular activity or a sports team. It becomes a community all on its own. “It is an immersion into a culture completely unique and fresh every year,” said Jessica Goldman (11). “Band is a very tight-knit group.”
And they certainly must be, in order to perform all of the synchronized marching and playing the student body enjoys. In this way, Poly’s marching band gives happiness not only to those involved, but to the rest of the student body as well.