Reminiscent of hours spent on the field during the fall marching season, Valley Christian Marching Band students once again gathered after school on Thursday for music and marching practice. This time, however, the payoff is much closer as there is less than a week’s worth of time before the (somewhat painfully late) 1:00 am plane takes off. Personally, I was touched by a quiet sense of nostalgia as the warm-up arc was formed in the rehearsal hall and my friends readied their instruments to play. Due to a few health issues, I was not able to participate in the 2011 marching season other than helping out at practice and competition, but being able to be with with these absolutely brilliant people has been the highlight of my school year. Last night has only heightened my excitement of being able to spend an entire week with the marching band in such a foreign and unique place as China.

Making the whole experience even more interesting was the presence of the NBC news team, filming the efforts of the band both on and off the track. Hopefully, everyone tuned in to see us on television! It’s fantastic for our marching band to receive that sort of publicity, especially since they all work so incredibly hard. The news coverage and other kinds of publicity will only increase as we near the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade.

After first spending a little less than an hour in the rehearsal hall, the band headed up to the football field to begin marching practice. Todd Ryan led them through the customary warm-up (Marios, anyone?), and then organized them into a marching block. For the next hour and a half the band practiced walking straight paths and making turns, things that may sound oddly easy in theory but become significantly more difficult in practice, especially when one has to worry about cover, dress, horn angles, being in step, and a myriad of other things.

The tenacity of the band became especially commendable when the wind began to pick up and the sun disappeared, taking with her any semblance of warmth. Even armed with hand warmers, though they ended up being disappointingly inefficient, the majority of the marchers were freezing as they practiced the 90 degree turn again, and again, and again. I was sitting on the side bench wearing two sweatshirts, applauding their endurance and hard work. When the clock finally struck 8:30, the tired marchers were able to go home for well-deserved rest and to the start of their spring break.

Hats off to the parents, though, who stayed much longer in order to finish organizing our new uniforms. Our parents work incredibly hard, but often lose well-deserved recognition because all of their efforts are behind the scenes. It’s the truth that VCHS Marching Band would be nowhere near functional without their presence.
Some of us have felt the excitement of this trip since it was announced last year, others began feeling it in the days leading up to April 9th, and still others will only have it hit as the plane touches down in Beijing. Finding myself in the first group, I can hardly believe that so many months have passed so quickly and that we’ll be departing in a few days. Have fun packing these next few days, everyone! April 9th is coming to be quite close!