DHS Marching Band Hosts, Opens the Season For the Region

Danbury High School hosted the first Marching Band exhibition of the year, the 2011 Jamboree. Brightly colored flags and the synchronized steps of the 68 band members contrasted brilliantly against the brand new football field as the crowds from six towns cheered each team.

 Saturday's event opened the East Coast season for the United States Scholastic Band Association, a new judging group for Danbury and for many other bands in Connecticut.

 John Swengler, the band relations representative for the USSBA said, “We are a non-profit organization based in Youth Education in the Arts (YEA). A lot of these bands will go on to national championships.”

There are over 600 bands currently affiliated with USSBA in the United States, but Swengler added, “We expect to have between 700 and 800. It's early in the season.”

 “This is Danbury's first year with USSBA and is also one of their first years they are hosting the event,” Swengler said.

 Matt Rose, one of the parent organizers, said that there are currently 68 students involved with the DHS marching band and color guard. “We have lots of parents and alumni, and other people who come back each year and help out.”

 Because Danbury was the host of the Jamboree, their performance was an exhibition only. Six other teams came and competed from high schools in Bethel, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Norwich, Stratford, and Arlington, NY.

 “Considering how much preparation we had, the show went great. We didn't have as many horns as we hoped. We still need more members,” Garrett Rose, Matt Rose's son, said. “We had less than we expected.”

 Approximately 1500 spectators viewed the competition. “We had a great turnout,” Matt Rose said. “We did well as a fundraiser. We ran out of food! Everything went. The weather cooperated and the USSBA were real happy with the way it turned out. At the end of the evening they go over the tapes with the band directors to see how the bands can improve.”

“It takes an army of people to put this together,” said Rose. “All the pit stuff needs to be transported, the kids, the instruments. It's a ton of work.”

 Joe and Caryn Britain are also parent volunteers who, like Matt Rose, have had two sons go through the program. “The music program strengthens the kids. A lot of these kids are at the top of their class. It strengthens them academically and helps the incoming freshman with easing into the school. They come into Band Camp two weeks before school starts and they start school already knowing a lot of kids.”

 The music program begins in third grade and goes through middle school. “Paul Riley, the music director, recruits the kids,” Britain said. “Most of them have had stage band experiences, and most started in the third grade. When they come to ninth grade, it's usually the first time they are really playing, and they grow so much. Some kids get recruited into Color Guard and they recommend it to their friends. A lot of the Color Guard have had some dance experience.”

 Color Guard is more challenging than some might expect. “There is flag control, and there is a fair amount of physical and artistic ability.”

 While the almost military precision and flashy flag colors of the drum group are what viewers come to expect, Sheila Kennedy, a senior at Danbury High School, explained her responsibilities as Head Drum Major. “I like it a lot. It's very intense. The main thing is keeping the tempo but it is also about keeping the peace, helping the freshmen learn everything. I marched for two years, so I know what it's like to be new.”

 Singing the praises of Marching Band, Kennedy said, “It has helped me learn time management. It gets tough when it gets cold, but you go out there, and just do it.”