Marching Band
Link to required forms
https://www.glenridge.org/Domain/757
Marching Band is a group of instrumental musicians who can march in step, following a drill chart, while performing music that complements their movements. The Glen Ridge High School Marching Band has around 40 students, divided into sections: upper brass, lower brass, upper woodwinds, lower woodwinds, percussion, and color guard. Instruments include alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, trombone, trumpet, mellophone, sousaphone, electronic keyboards, basses and guitars, xylophone and vibraphones, bongos, congas, shakers, maracas, and cymbals, quint and quad drums, cymbals, snare drums, and tuned bass drums. The color guard accompanies the band and is a way for non-instrumental students to participate in the group.
The band director selects the music, which has varied over the years. The 2020-2021 school year will feature a show based on Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Recent performances have included The Who’s Tommy, Leonard Bernstein’s On the Waterfront, The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, the theme from Psycho, North by Northwest, and Taxi Driver by Bernard Herrmann, Buddy Rich’s West Side Story, and Rodeo by Aaron Copeland.
Students join Marching Band in the ninth grade, which in the Glen Ridge school district is considered a varsity sport. They have the opportunity to find out what it’s like when they are in eighth grade by marching in the town Memorial Day Parade. Students interested in joining do not audition or need to have prior skill on an instrument.
A team of strong, dedicated, and talented young adults lead the Marching Band on the field. Students audition to be drum major, field captain, drill sergeant, and/or sectional captains (upper brass, lower brass, upper woodwinds, lower woodwinds, percussion, and color guard). These students have to demonstrate their ability to teach, to conduct, and to run basic exercises with band members. In addition, they present a project describing why they would be best for the position and are interviewed by the band director, staff, and the band’s current leaders.
Marching Band has a weeklong camp at the end of August and rehearses four times a week and on weekends from September to November. The group participates in competitions on the local, state, and national levels, in addition to performing during half-time at home football games.
Many students share this opinion: “We hate Marching Band during practice, love Marching Band during competitions and football games, and miss Marching Band when it’s over.”