Leadership, Teaching, Conducting, Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Hey Milford Patch! Long time, no see!

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been 1 month and 5 days since I've blogged for you, and 2 months and 1 day since I've actually written for you.

This blog's topic (main topic, at least): drum majoring.

Built-in time for the audience to go "ooo, ahh."

A marching band is composed of several parts. Included are the battery (percussion), saxophones, trumpets, clarinets, flutes, and low brass. There's also the pit, which can play everything from drum sets and marimba to electric guitar and sleigh bells. Aside from instruments, there is the colorguard, which provides the visuals for the show, by spinning rifles, sabres, and most commonly, flags.

Then there's the drum major. This guy (or gal) doesn't sleep at night during marching season. No lie.

Most folks look at a drum major and think "conducting," but there's more to it than that. How do I know? I am a second-year drum major for 's . Last year, I was a junior, one drum major with two seniors right beside me. This year, I am a senior, with one junior beside me.

Back to the story:

Conducting is a huge part of a drum major, but so is teaching and all-around leadership. We have this camp called The George N. Parks Drum Major Academy (DMA), where we learn, not only conducting, but also teaching methods and leadership techniques. George Parks, the academy's founder, passed away 11 months ago a week from today. Last year's MHS drum majors, myself included, were students at his last DMA.

Mr. Parks was widely regarded as one of the best teachers in the world. He was sincere, he was knowledgeable, and above all, he was passionate. He utilized these things called "starred thoughts," which were little tidbits of information he thought were important. Examples of these are "You never get a second chance at a first impression," and "If you act something long enough, you become it."

I'll be honest, some of these starred thoughts didn't impact my life very much until Sept. 16, 2010, when he passed away. One very good example of these is "Make the most of every moment." I now try to live like that every day.

I don't want to be writing all night, so I'll leave this open to questions. Feel free to leave comments, and I will get back to you promptly.

I am including the letter (attached as a document to this post) I wrote to the MHS Parents for Music last year thanking them for sending me to DMA last summer. The first year you attend the Academy as a drum major, you are sent by the Parents for Music, an organization supporting the Music Department in Milford. I wrote this letter at the end of last summer thanking them for the gift of attending DMA. In the letter, I describe DMA in fairly good detail.

Finally, if you around on Sept. 24 or Oct. 8, 22, or 29, as well as other dates, stop by Medway High School, where you can see the Milford High School Marching Band in action. If you weren't aware, Milford is , so we have to play this year in Medway.

We actually play against Medway this year, too, at their (and our, I guess) home field. Awkward, if I may say so myself.