Tarpon Springs Band Prepares for a New Season

Some call it “the song that never ends”.  That’s how it is at Tarpon Springs High School if you are a student, parent or supporter of the nationally recognized Leadership Conservatory for the Arts.  Each summer, the 12-month program shifts into high gear to prepare its flagship marching band for another season of grueling hard work, stunning music and visuals, and – hopefully  –  another Bands of America (BOA) national championship. By the time school starts, the program has already recruited new students, held parent orientations, conducted weekly practices all summer long, plus a solid week of Band Camp before school starts.

The Leadership Conservatory for the Arts is a countywide magnet program based at Tarpon Springs High School that uses music and arts education in conjunction with leadership development courses and activities to build strong personal character and visionary skills in its students.  The marching band is one of 5 ensembles that make up the instrumental music segment of the Conservatory.

On a recent Saturday Director Kevin Ford took a break from the all day rehearsal.  Back in the office, the Weather Channel displayed the storm track of Hurricane Isaac on the TV but Ford hardly blinked at the impact of the impending storm on his rehearsal schedule. “We may lose Tuesday but we will be back out on Thursday,” he said as he watched the TV with one eye and continued to design the marching drill on the computer with the other.  High school marching band season runs August through November and will consume Ford and his 12 instructors for the next 3 months.  In addition to weekday practices, Saturdays become 12-hour rehearsal “camps” for  students and instructors.

Each year, Ford and the band’s composer, Frank Sullivan, write the original music and drill for the marching band show.  Every show is different and may even change subtly as the season progresses.  Although the band provides traditional half-time entertainment and pep support for the school’s football team, the focus of the students’ efforts is on the national BOA competitions in Atlanta and Indianapolis.

The 2012 marching show has yet to be given an official name, but is loosely based on the story line and literary devices of the 1812 German fairy tale, “Snow White”.  This year's band is the largest ever at Tarpon Springs with over 170 students (including 50 freshmen) making up the brass, woodwind, percussion and color guard sections.  Consistent with the leadership development goals of the Conservatory, each section is guided by upperclassman section leaders. 

Acclimating the new freshman members to the rigors and unique culture of the band is a major challenge this early in the year.  “These are students who have never experienced anything like this in their lives,” explained Drill Instructor Johnny Zollo.  Although many new students have had some level of musical instruction, “from a musical perspective, this is the most difficult music they have ever played,” Ford added.

Full-time assistants Chris DeLeon, Todd Leighton, and Color Guard Director Jeannine Ford are complemented by a cadre of 9 part-time instructors including several program alumni who are on the field for every rehearsal and travel to every performance.  Each instructor is a specialist and is assigned to a specific category of instruction: brass, woodwinds, front ensemble percussion, battery percussion, color guard, marching and movement.  “Our instructional staff is a very important component in our ability to effectively teach our students the many skills needed in order for them to achieve a high level of excellence and success,” Ford explained.

All of this effort has paid off in spades. In 2011, Tarpon Springs won the BOA southeast super-regional competition at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  In 2010, they earned the Division AAA championship at the Grand Nationals in Indianapolis.  In the past 20 years, Tarpon Springs is the only Florida band to be a finalist at the Indianapolis Grand Nationals. Next year, members will travel to New York to represent Florida in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on national television.

But all of this success does not come cheaply.  “People think we are an affluent band because of all of our travel and accomplishments,” said Stefanie Markham a parent volunteer and member of the band booster board of directors.  “But what they don’t know is that over 30% of our band students are on free or reduced lunch.”  Every band family is asked to contribute financially to help cover the individual travel expenses for their student.  But year-round fundraising and community support is necessary to pay for the uniforms, equipment, instruments, instructors, prop construction, equipment repair, and leasing transportation for local and out-of-state travel; it takes 5 charter busses to move the whole band.  “As with most school districts in our country right now we are facing catastrophic budgetary cuts. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the students in our program our not victims of this economy,” Director Ford said.

You can catch parts of the band’s 2012 show at half-time of Tarpon Springs home football games.  The full competition performances begin October 6 with the Seminole Sound Spectacular at Seminole High School, then the following week at the East Lake Classic Invitational competition.  The band will perform at home in the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Music Festival on October 20.  The band wraps up the season in Atlanta for the BOA super-regional competition on October 27 and then Grand Nationals in Indianapolis on November 10. 

For more information on the Tarpon Springs Leadership Conservatory for the Arts and the marching band visit www.tarponspringsband.com or contact Band Booster President Kathy Maloney at kmaloney@tarponspringsband.com.