BOA Grand Nationals: The Woodlands, Texas

INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 14, 2009)—High musicianship and technical prowess on the marching field are apparent, year to year, from the band at The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands, Texas, one of Houston’s northern suburbs. Their 2009 field show, “Amen,” opens with a soprano solo before judging begins in the semi-final and final rounds at the Bands of America Grand National Championships.

To begin the judging portion of the show, a large choir of the band’s musicians, meeting each other front and center, sings “Amen,” constantly building on the initial mood.

Music is by Goreki, Elias, Long, Abou-Khalil, and Kim.

Our expectation of music from a marching band is abruptly cut short, though, as a small group breaks out on the 50-yard line, first playing African-style drums and then syllabifying some non-word with a powerful syncopation.

In other words, there’s a beat in there, a strong one, but the accents are never where we in the Western world would expect them to be. And the words themselves are unknown, similar to what a Rock ‘n’ Roll group from the 50s might have done in singing “doo-wah-doo-wah.” Except, The Woodlands band gives it a much more upbeat, hyperactive rendition than the swooning sounds of the 50s.

The entire band picks up the style and takes it for a little ride. It reminds me of a t-shirt philosophy students started wearing a few years back that said:
      To be is to do. –Socrates
      To do is to be. –Sartre
      Do be do be do. –Sinatra

By mixing African drums and rhythms with an American marching band, The Woodlands plays a role similar to the Sinatra quote on the t-shirt when it mixes ancient Greek philosophy with French existentialism. Both the t-shirt and the band happen into a revelation about the real meaning of it all, and they express that thought in a much simpler, more universal language.

A flute solo launches a slower movement that eventually closes with a dancer from the band. Flute solos are not uncommon in front of a microphone, but using band members, not from the color guard, to sing and dance solo or in small ensembles during the show, puts The Woodlands on a slightly higher plane when it comes to marching band.

That dancer is key to the show’s overall integration as well, jumping at the end of the routine, when the powerful low brass won’t let go. This sparks a percussive section of the show that includes much more than the percussion, with two large triangular formations coming together and then rotating as one. They crescendo. They pose for a moment so we can admire the visuals alone. And then, they wail.

The climax is brief, in a Big Bang sort of way, given the high density of the band’s energy in such a small space. All that energy has to go somewhere, dissipating into the universe as band members lay down their instruments and form a choir in between the 45-yard lines. The flags and percussion form arcs behind them, like the backstop on a baseball field.

In harmony, as much musically as with universal truth, they sing “Amen.”

The Woodlands High School, established in 1976, brings a marching band to Lucas Oil Stadium directed by Brett Johnson, with assistance from Joni Perez, Chris Allen, and Andy Salmon. Andy Acheson is the color guard director, with assistance from William Martin, Claire Salmon, and Megan Kelley. The band is led on the field by drum majors Emily Maxwell, Siobhan Mullen, Ashley Garvey, and Madeline Rhoden.