Arundel Pit - Tournament of Bands Background

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Dec 19, 2009, 10:21pm

Arundel Pit :: Musical Groups :: Marching/Concert :: Tournament of Bands Background - 2009-2010

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Topic: Tournament of Bands Background - 2009-2010 (Read 93 times)

Steve Barrett
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Tournament of Bands Background - 2009-2010
« Thread Started on May 23, 2009, 8:25am »

The Tournament of Bands (http://www.njatob.org) is an organization comprised of over 450 high school music programs in nine states that compete in competition through various regions of the Northeastern United States. If you are familiar with Drum Corps International (DCI), TOB is at a similar level. TOB judges high school marching bands for musical talent, marching and show production, providing students the opportunity to excel in competition, meet other high school musicians and observe ways that they can improve their marching and performing technique -- especially for those planning to move to collegiate marching bands after high school.

The State of Maryland is very involved in TOB and has the second largest number of high school bands (70) competing in TOB competition (only Pennsylvania -- with 225 member schools -- has a larger participation). There are also large groups of schools from New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia.

Each fall, high schools bands travel to different TOB sites to compete in local and regional competitions, striving to compete against other schools of their level for top honors in each event. Each year, Arundel High School selects three to four TOBs to compete within their region to earn scores that will qualify them for Chapters competition (Arundel is in Chapter 9 of 13 regional chapters). The goal of Dr. Butts and the program is to challenge the band musicians into presenting a challenging and entertaining show that will not only build confidence in the student's music ability, but also to earn high grades -- grades that will help in the seeding of the Wildcat Band at Chapters and the potential to compete at the TOB Atlantic Coast Championships in Pennsylvania in November.

Professional musicians trained in marching band techniques serve as the judges at each TOB and those judges rate the bands based on a variety of categories, such as:

Music selection
Show presentation
Marching ability
Concentration on the show
Sectional proficiency (brass, percussion, guard, drum majors)

In addition, a new policy enacted in 2008 has bands competing by not only size (there are four groups - Group 1 the smallest, Group 4 the largest), but also by experience in competition. For 2009, Arundel is a Group 3 Championship band because they're an experienced band that has competed at high levels. (South River High School -- for example, is a Group 2 band competing at the local level because they are building to the regional level competition.)

Currently, of the 12 public high schools in Anne Arundel County, eight compete in Tournament of Band at some level. North County, Annapolis, Southern and Northeast have marching bands, but do not compete in TOB.

From a personal standpoint, my two daughters graduated from Arundel in 2006. One was the clarinet section leader for two years and the other was the pit percussion leader for three years. Now college seniors, they come back each summer to aid Dr. Butts with their respective sections during band camp, keep an eye on TOB results while at college, and catch as many performances that they can. Tournament of Bands is probably one the best memories in a series of highlights during their four years at Arundel -- especially during the 2004-2005 season when Arundel had its highest ratings in my time with the band with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" show. The girls learned and grew musically, they developed leadership abilities within the band, and they loved the stage -- performing before hundreds of spectators with a love of this special art called marching band.

A lot of people are blindsided by the costs, and yes, they've gone up over the years. We've tried to alert parents at outreach sessions at Arundel High School and at concerts in the middle schools that there are costs. Blame inflation, gas prices and a series of other issues. You'll find that all county schools competing have similar or even more expensive requirements, based on travel plans.

Some schools like Broadneck and Severna Park actually leave the area for their band camp. Fund raisers and parental wallets fund a majority of what all county band booster organizations try to do.

There are judges fees, band camp staff payments, ensemble instructors checks, equipment repairs and maintenance, registration fees, transportation costs, music licensing, drill instructors...it goes on and on. Dr. Butts gets about $1500 for the entire year for the entire music department. That's admin, music purchasing for the band, chorus, orchestra and ensembles (guard is not included in the budget). Transportation costs for TOBs, parades, and performances would wipe that out. That's why there's AIMA...to try and raise the funds needed.

At Arundel, we found that there were enough ways to earn money for the students through projects like the Baysox concessions, through pizza and poinsettia sales, candy bar sales, car washes, and play-a-thons to earn most of the expenses needed for those in orchestra, marching band, jazz band, percussion ensemble and concert band.

It takes a family effort, but there was always time to help in the fund raising to cut the expenses of having twins in this program. You make the time to volunteer if you wanted to cut costs.

Practice -- Dr. Butts has them practicing a lot. The three hour sessions -- especially during marching season are taxing -- especially on freshmen students getting their first introduction to high school music, while also trying to transition into high school academics.

But just like any other teacher who professes to study and practice to learn their subjects, Dr. Butts does the same thing for the musicians -- yes, the cliche phrase "practice makes perfect." For most of 40 years he's taught at Arundel, Dr. Butts been at nearly all those practices to direct, teach and help students as they strive to become better musicians. He's there as long as the kids are there.

Most music students enter Arundel with the knowledge of one instrument. Many leave with a wider range knowledge and the ability to play multiple instruments. Our incoming senior drum major came here as a clarinet player and now plays baritone saxophone with the jazz band. We had one student start as a violist and graduated in 2008 last year playing baritone horn and trombone. A clarinetist from the Class of 2007 left as an award-winning oboist with experience in mallet and battery percussion, bassoon, trombone and all saxophones. A lot was self-driven, but most is because of the practice ethic Dr. Butts instilled to make them better musicians.

Is it worth it? The money you invest in this band over the years provides your musicians with an outlet to expand their education, learn leadership, build lasting friendships, perform music and take on additional challenges. Many parents leave the program once their children graduate. Some remain because they believe in the Dr. Butts, the program, and the kids who make this school one of the best and most respected programs in the county.

« Last Edit: Oct 18, 2009, 10:58am by Steve Barrett »

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