No pain, no gain

Bands sweat it out to gain perfection

They practice for hours after school in the August heat. They spend weeks of their summer training for the upcoming football season. Finally, they get to take the field for the first time to perform on Friday night in front of their peers and fans. They’re not football players. They are members of the marching band.

Marching band is more than just playing instruments and walking, it involves muscle control to stand in the heat for long periods of time without moving, controlled breathing and strict discipline.

“Other people, like football players, don’t really believe how physical (band) really is,” said Carly Robinson, a drum major at Destrehan this year.

Drum majors are leaders in the band who conduct their peers during performances and act as role models. Usually two are chosen each year. This year’s drum majors at DHS are junior Carly Robinson, 16, and senior Garrett Kessling, 17. Hahnville’s drum majors are junior Lindsey Poret, 16, and senior Joseph Matherne, 17.

All of the drum majors agreed that band offers more leadership opportunities than other clubs or sports.

Destrehan band director Stacy Toal said that every member of the band is a leader because “every person is the most important person” in the band.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re first chair flute or last chair trumpet, everyone is the most important because without you, there is a hole in the show,” Toal said. “That creates a sense of individual responsibility but also interdependence.”

Unlike sports, Hahnville band director Jasper Fahrig said that band is more than just performing flawlessly.

“There is a certain performance aspect with band where you have to please your audience,” Fahrig said.

Each year, the band programs choose a new theme that they hope will excite audiences and win awards at contests throughout the state.

Hahnville’s show this year is called “Goddess” and will feature a tribute to the women of rock and roll, including songs like “Barricuda,” “Heartbraker” and “Songbird.” Destrehan’s show features music from popular video games, including pieces from “Final Fantasy,” “God of War” and “Kingdom Hearts.”

Both bands plan to attend the local district marching festival and the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands to perform their shows and vie for superior scores.