NHS Marching Band And Guard

Prepare For The Season

By Eliza Hallabeck

With nearly one-third of the roughly 120-member Newtown High School Marching Band & Guard made up of freshmen students this year, Band Director Kurt Eckhardt said the group’s upcoming season will be a challenging one, and that is the way the students and teachers want it to be.

The Marching Band & Guard attended its first competition of the season on Saturday, September 11, at Danbury High School. The NHS students competed against marching bands and color guards from three other Class V groups that day; Arlington, Trumbull, and Port Chester. Newtown came in fourth, but participated with a full routine, which is unusual for the first competition of a season, according to Mr Eckhardt. (A video, shot by Richard Hilton, of the September 11 competition is available on YouTube.com by searching for “NHSMB&G @ Danbury HS 9.11.10.”)

With so many freshmen students this season, Mr Eckhardt said the older students know they have to be teachers to their peers, and the newer students know they have to grow up fast.

“They seem to like that,” said Mr Eckhardt.

The band also chose music that would challenge them this year.

“The music has more technical challenges, more difficult ranges, and requires more interdependence between the different sections,” said Mr Eckhardt on Tuesday, September 21.

A number of factors combined this year to bring in so many new faces to the NHS Marching Band & Guard, according to the band director, but two are prominent to him. First, he said, the support of the band teachers at Reed Intermediate School and Newtown Middle School prepare students for the high school level. Second, “The students recruit each other, because they love the activities so much.”

With the band’s next competition scheduled for this Saturday, September 25, at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, some of the students practicing in the band room at NHS on Tuesdayexpressed different emotions.

“Scared is good,” said sophomore tuba player Brendan Callery. “It will get us motivated to do better.”

Senior Woodwind Captain Vinny Brophy said seeing other bands go out and give their best shot during the last competition made him excited for NHS to do the same.

“Trumbull gave us a big gap,” said Vinny, “and now we have to close and close it until we catch them.”

Both Mr Eckhardt and Newtown High School Band Parents Corporation President Michael Cummings said they are looking forward to a couple special events this season. For Mr Eckhardt, one of those events is coming up on October 2, when the band and guard will travel down to East Rutherford, N.J., to play in the new Meadowlands Stadium for the USSBA Yamaha Cup competition. It will be the first band competition to be held in the new Giants/Jets stadium, according to Mr Eckhardt.

This year’s Musical Arts Conference competition will be held in New Milford on Saturday, October 9, and the Grasso Festival, NHS’s home show, is scheduled for October 16.

“I think we have a great season set up for the kids,” Mr Eckhardt said, “and we hope they continue to strive for excellence, realize their potential, and have a great year.”

NHS’s Grasso Festival was not held last year, due to work on the NHS expansion and renovation project, and this year the timing to finish the field will be close to the October 16 date for the home field showcase. Both Mr Eckhardt and Mr Cummings said they are confident with school reports on the work, but know there is a possibility a change may happen in the band’s schedule if the field is not completed in time.

With both his daughter, senior Katie Cummings, and son, freshmen Danny Cummings, on the Marching Band & Guard this year, Mr Cummings said he knows the band is just as competitive as any sport played in Newtown. He also said the band parents are discussing holding another tag sale at the high school to support the group, and an adult mixer might be planned for during the school year.

A full schedule for the band is available at http://pages.newtown.k12.ct.us/~nhsband.

Mr Eckhardt said the NHS Marching Band & Guard was welcomed at Reed Intermediate School and by the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, on the Fairfield Hills campus, to practice this year while the field at NHS is being worked on during the school’s expansion and renovation project. Mr Eckhardt said the band is thankful to both for the opportunities provided to the high school students.

“Hopefully, when they get that field done we will be able to practice here on that nice artificial turf field, which is beautiful for us,” said Mr Eckhardt.