By Jaehun Lee
Arts Reporter
“The band’s never gotten worse, you guys are just hearing all of the bad stuff we’ve been doing,” said Newton South band director Lisa Linde, as she spoke to the band that would proceed to win a gold medal at the MICCA Concert festival and play at Mechanics Hall in Worcester last year; that band sent 18 of its members to Senior Districts and six to All-States.
Many of the talented players that helped make the ensemble so spectacular were graduating seniors who have since left a large hole for the remaining members to fill.
“A lot of the leaders in each section are new to leading the section,” sophomore trumpet player Caleb Fried said. “If you look at the band only two of the sections have returning leaders. The trumpets, flutes, clarinets, trombones, percussion…all of them have new leaders.”
“I think it’s really hard for Ms. Linde to fill that gap,” band member Abe Singer* said. “She definitely tries new things to get kids engaged: homework, questions, alternative seating, but sometimes kids can’t bring themselves to get excited about music.”
“I think that we are overall doing a better job adjusting than I thought we would at the end of last year,” Fried said. “A lot of the new band members, while less experienced, seem to be putting in a good amount of work towards improving the band, and I think that will lead to a better band than the current one in years to come.”
Despite many members stepping up to fill the gap, there remains a large portion of the band that is less committed to another MICCA win.
“I feel like there is a noticeable number of people who just aren’t committed, whether that be they leave for a large portion of rehearsal, they don’t practice, or they don’t participate,” band member Alexa Tibbs* said. “It’s not really a certain section or people of a certain grade level who are slacking, but there are enough of them who aren’t putting in enough effort that it has a pretty significant impact on the quality of our sound.”
“It reverses the hard work that someone else might be putting in, or it might force others to work to fix a problem that they have already fixed and are not a part of,” Fried said.
Singer and Fried believe that this issue is not limited to band alone.
“They don’t really see it as as much of a class as a normal class,” Fried said. “They see it as a free block which you get credit for. While band doesn’t require as much work as say, an honors academic class, it still requires some, especially work involving participation in class.”
“I understand that we’re all going through things,” Singer said. “But sometimes it’s just people leaving class because they’re bored. It just goes to show that people don’t take band seriously. People just don’t think their absence is significant.”
Part of that lack of accountability comes from the sheer number of students taking the class, as well as the more relaxed environment.
“Band as a class has always been by nature less of a strict class in terms of punctuality and commitment for a lot of people,” Fried explained. “There are definitely individuals who don’t put as much effort into the band as others, but there will always be people like that.”
“I said this last year when it looked like Honors Band would get cut, but music—and arts in general for that matter—is seen as something kids can experiment with while they are in school, but not something you’ll pursue for the rest of your life, so it tends to get thrown under the bus,” Tibbs said. “But arts teaches you invaluable things other subjects like Math or Science can’t, and it adds another dimension to you. Without arts, you can’t be a balanced human being, and I think some kids in band tend to miss that.”
Fried, Singer, and Tibbs believe the solution lies in getting people excited about music, which could involve allowing the students to select the pieces they play.
“Participation is definitely part of making band more exciting,” Singer said. “I think everyone has at least one song that makes them really excited, so they should share it.”
“In the end, it’s [the people who aren’t trying] who are missing out on the magic of music and the wonder of the arts,” Tibbs said.
*Names changed to protect students’ anonymity
