What were you doing for the first two weeks of August? Sleeping? Sitting by the pool? Watching TV? Playing video games?
Well, I bet you weren’t marching outside in the one hundred degree heat. Unless, of course, you are a member of the Jesuit Ursuline Ranger Band, also known as JURB. JURB recently finished yet another session of band camp, which occurred this year from July 29 to August 8.
The band, directed by Mr. Donovan Putnam and Mr. Zane Crownover, welcomed almost thirty new freshmen to the program. These new students came from a variety of backgrounds. Some were playing their instruments for the first time. Others had been playing for years before. Some were Jesuit boys, while others were Ursuline girls. Some came from private schools, while a few others came from public schools.
Tuba player Nick Fox ’16 emphasized that “band camp is a unique way to bring together the members to have fun and learn the new material for football season. For freshmen, it’s an excellent advantage to make lasting friendships before the pressures of a new year come upon them.”
The new officers of the band performed excellently during their first leadership opportunity as they helped run marching practice and sectionals. New drum majors Chris Lanyon ’14 and Chris Wolff ’14 took charge of camp and made sure to stress the fundamentals of both playing and marching.
Peter Park ’14 stated that “the new drum majors are motivated, which helps motivate the rest of the band.”
The band camp schedule stayed uniform for the most part over the nine-day period. In the mornings around 7:30 AM, the band went outside and drilled marching to avoid the worst of the Texas heat. Then, at around 10:00 AM, they took a short break to refuel and cool down with Flavo-Ice popsicles and fresh fruit. Following the break, the band would return to the football field for another hour of marching before lunch. After lunch the band split into sections: saxophones, low brass, trumpets, French horns, clarinets (flutes and clarinets), drum line, color guard, and pit. Sectionals lasted from 12:30 PM to about 3:00. At 3:00, the band took a thirty minute break to refuel with snacks and rest before full band, which lasted from 3:30 to 4:30.
Throughout the two-week band camp period, there were various themed days, including crazy sock day, frat/sorority day, cape day, twin day, and dress your leader day. The latter ended with Major Wolff in a plaid Ursuline skirt and Major Lanyon in a summer dress.
Freshman Bass Stewart enjoyed all the different and crazy themes because it “made it to where people had something in common.”
One motto that this year’s leaders have chosen to instill is “Hype.” Jeff Fitzgerald ’14 coined the term and used it to encourage his section, and the phrase was ultimately applied to give the entire band energy in the high temperatures.
Fitzgerald explained that “while every band camp is fantastic, this year was especially energized. Our unofficial slogan of ‘get hype’ never failed to keep us active and, well, hyped.”
Dustin Bagayna ’15 commented that “the hype was exciting and fun-filled” and “helped make great memories while under the extreme heat.”
The first seven days of marching were primarily a review of fundamentals such as forward marching, backward marching, touch-and-goes, haces, drag turns, attention, and parade rests. Majors Wolff and Lanyon taught a technique to the full band before the band split into sections where officers gave more individual instruction.
However, the final two days of morning marching were centered around learning drill for this year’s show, Latin Shades. Mr. Crownover wrote the complete drill for the show, eliminating the need to hire a drill writer. Drill sheets were passed out to each member of the band. Everyone would then use them to find his/her spot on the field, marking their space with a four spot. Crownover would run through the various movements and holds to help members learn their spots.
Despite the heat, most of the musicians did not complain. In fact, many enjoyed the marching. The directors and drum majors encouraged all students to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
William Chu ’16 explained how “marching in band might be tiring, but it helps build endurance and discipline which in turn improves our overall performance as a band.”
Over band camp, the band learned the music and steps for the first song in the show, El Cumbanchero. Each week of the season, the band will install more songs and marching until the entire show is ready to be performed. Future installments will include Novus and I Know You Want Me.
There will be a new, stricter pass-off system this season, where players will have to have the fight song, alma mater, Star Spangled Banner, scales, and show pieces memorized for the football games. These will contribute to students’ grades in the grade book for band. The motive behind these is mainly to make the show run smoothly and eliminate the use of flip folders for frequently played tunes such as the fight song. Mr. Putnam emphasized that younger, less experienced players will be judged accordingly and will not be held to the same musical standard as the older, more experienced musicians of the band. Many students began to pass off tunes before the end of band camp to get a head start on the process.
During band camp, sectionals took up most of the afternoon. Each section had a professional private teacher to aid it in learning music. By splitting into sections, the players could receive personalized instruction from qualified teachers who were experts in their instrumental field. Many of these same teachers will serve as weekly private lesson instructors for students throughout the year.
Sectionals helped out the various small factions of the band to prepare them for when the entire band convened in late afternoon. Mr. Putnam, Mr. Crownover, and the drum majors would lead indoor music rehearsal for the entire band for the final hour of camp.
Various traditions were honored and continued during this year’s band camp. For instance, every year, band upperclassmen are given a freshman buddy to befriend and look after throughout the year. One tradition during band camp is to take the freshmen out to dinner. On the last Wednesday of band camp, the upperclassmen took their buddies to various restaurants around the area. The majority ate at Liberty Burger or Freebird’s Burritos. Then, many met at the new restaurant, Snowdawgs, across the street from Jesuit to enjoy cold snow cones. In addition, on the first evening rehearsal, the freshmen and their buddies met to watch Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, a movie which garnered much laughter from all.
Steven Lee ’14 described the program as “a wonderful way to bring the seniors and freshman closer.” He mentioned that “the program introduces freshmen to not only JURB but also Jesuit in general and its concept of brotherhood.”
Another tradition was perpetuated as past, graduated band members came back to visit the band. Visiting college students included Connor Gleim ’13, Brendan Celli ’12, Trey Curran ’13, Ben Warren ’12, James Tabije ’12, Joseph Harwerth ’13, Kevin Chen ’13, Katie Ritter ’12, Jennifer Cain ’12, and Kevin Vuong ’13. These former JURB members were warmly welcomed back with cheers and hugs.
Recently graduated band member Connor Gleim ’13 said that “it was great to return to Band Camp not as a member of the band but as a visiting graduate. I was glad to see old friends, and I was especially glad that the huge freshman class had already adjusted to the drills and the music. I can’t wait to return this fall to see the show performed during halftime.”
A third tradition was honored on the final night of band camp as the band met for a party at Brookhaven Country Club which included food, swimming, mini golf, basketball, and beach volleyball. Every year, the band has a party on the last day of band camp, and this year was no different. Students were able to cool off and relax after a long two weeks of work.
Though many traditions have been in effect for years in JURB, this year a new tradition may have begun with the Rangerette lunch. Madeline Flores ’14 was approached by the Rangerette communications officer, seeing if they could meet with the band during their week of camp. A date was set and one day the dancers came to eat lunch alongside the band. Each table was made up of half Rangerettes and half JURB members, all from the same grade, in order to allow them to meet and get to know one another.
Benito Buksh ’15 commented that “it was nice to hang out with them.”
At the end of the summer, the band had two nighttime rehearsals which occurred on Monday and Tuesday, August 19th and 20th from 6 to 9 PM. They will continue
to practice each morning before school, starting promptly at 7:00 AM. Another session of band camp passed, JURB musicians look forward to a strong marching season and hope to perform well in their two marching competitions in the fall.
At the conclusion of summer band, Zoë Nash ’14 noted that “I could tell from band camp that this year’s marching band is going to be great. There isn’t a single person in this band whom I cannot call hardworking, passionate, and kind.”
When asked to describe her experience at band camp, senior saxophone Gladys Ohakwe responded with “What happens at band camp STAYS at band camp,” a motto that recapitulates the insanity occurs each August at band camp.
