Marching Orders : Bands Tune Up for Statewide Tournament in Simi Valley

After the grueling two-hour marching band practice, Bradley Scherer was frustrated.

The baritone section he leads had not yet memorized the music or learned the choreography. The Moorpark High School junior pulled his group aside and made them drop to the ground for push-ups.

“I know I can do better. I know we can all do better,” Bradley told the section, asking them to spend extra time at home practicing. “You need to push.”

The long, exhausting season has just begun for the county’s marching bands, many of whom will compete in Simi Valley beginning at noon today in a tournament that will draw bands from 15 high schools from across the state.

The long hours and physical drain disappear come game time, band members agree.

“When you get in uniform, we’re in one group,” said Bradley, 17. “It’s the biggest rush I’ve ever felt.”

But between those weekly rushes, there are daily two-hour rehearsals after school, weekly sectionals and countless hours of individual practicing.

When school lets out at 2:30 p.m., most Moorpark High students head home, but the 105 marching band members head to the practice field.

The teenagers stretch, practice marching drills and rehearse the music.

This week the band was still focusing on music from “West Side Story.”

“The kids don’t know how much they’ve got,” said Bob Hackett, director of bands. “This is without a doubt the most difficult show they’ve ever done.”

For the famous Dance in the Gym sequence, a finger-snapping effect was created by beating the side of a snare drum, then the solo jazz riff begins midfield.

The band whaled until marching instructor and visual coordinator Michael Grogan yelled “Cut!” over the speaker system.

For 90 minutes, the band played section after section, starting and stopping. Memorize the music, perfect the steps and watch the director were the major themes of the afternoon.

A warm breeze that moved across the lush green field offered no relief from the heat, so musicians stole sips of water when there was a free moment.

“You can’t wish to be good,” Grogan said over the sound system. “You must work hard to be good.”

It’s not just students who put in many hours. Nearly every high school band program has a well-organized booster club generally responsible for raising most of the funds the band will need. In Moorpark, parents annually raise upward of $55,000.

While Ventura County Sheriff’s Department officials confirmed this week they are investigating discrepancies in financial records at Newbury Park High and Sequoia Middle School booster clubs--where an audit uncovered $34,000 missing from club and bank account records between 1994 and 1998--such irregularities are considered rare.

In Oxnard, the Rio Mesa High School marching band counts on the booster club to pay for nearly every part of the program. The money raised buys new instruments, music stands, uniforms and bus rentals.

The Rio Mesa band meets each morning at 8 for a one-hour rehearsal. Standing in a circle, the band practiced the theme from “Zorro,” which it will perform for the duration of the Spartan football season and at numerous competitions.

This week the band held two 2 1/2-hour evening rehearsals to prepare for the competition at Simi Valley High School.

Like one-third of the students in the marching band, freshman Melanie Segoria also plays in the jazz band. That ensemble meets at 7 a.m. each day.

“I just love the drums. Period,” Melanie said. “It’s a lot of stress but I get over it.”

When the 56-member band climbs onto buses and travels to competitions, the fun begins, Melanie said. Members often find their circle of friends in a marching band.

While the music, scheduling and choreography are different from one school to another, they all share a common bond--they love what they do and they are committed to the band.

“I love music. I love to play it but the people really keep you into it,” said Jackie Gressman, Moorpark’s drum major. “We do stuff outside of band. We just love to be together.”

But during rehearsal time, it’s all business. Complaints are rare. The musicians keep gripes to themselves and just play.

By the end of rehearsal at Moorpark High, everyone was visibly exhausted.

After two hours of correction after correction, of starting and stopping, the students huddled.

“Today was the first day you put in a hard day’s work and it paid off,” Grogan said. “You improved a lot today.”