Pitchers and Catchers? Try Trumpets and Trombones

The Scotch Plains Fanwood High School Marching band held its second spring rehearsal yesterday in preparation for its fall competition season. According to director Durand Thomas the band is at a near record size, presently boasting more than 170 students, many of whom are incoming freshmen.

"It is really great that so many students came out for this year, it will only increase our band's power and presence on the field," drum major Amanda Ho said.

In order for the band to harness this potential power, "we will first need to break the individuals down and mold them into one cohesive unit, so they will march and play in perfect harmony," drum major David McNally said. "We have a lot more work to do before we can even see this happening on the horizon. But we know that it can happen. So we will be sweating it out all summer, working to make this change transpire."

It is these changes, not victories in competition, director Thomas said, that are the focus of his program. "The idea is that through the summer, every student will progress, and with that our band will progress. We expect everyone to work their butts off. Teaching them to do this is what we concentrate on because its benefits will help them in their other musical exploits and in the rest of their lives."

The band's show this year is entitled Generation Millennium. Described by Thomas as both "an emotional journey" and a "very personal show," it will feature much of the music played during the fireworks at Disney World. The four-part performance will, as Thomas puts it "portray how there is no limit to what this generation is capable of."