It’s in the details

It’s been a different year.

The show is a different style. 

The weather has made for a different competition season.

The Jay County High School Marching Patriots will take their show, “Consumed,” to competition for the final time Friday at an Indiana State Fair Band Day that also looks as if it will be different — in the form of mild weather.

Through all of the differences and all of the challenges that have come throughout the summer, the ultimate goal is to be at their best during Friday’s finals. Director Chuck Roesch believes they are ready.

“I know the growth that I’ve seen them make day to day, week to week,” he said. “And … trajectory-wise, I know that their best performance is going to be on Friday night.

“What we have to do as a staff is to keep their eye on the prize. And that prize not being a trophy, but to keep their eye on, ‘What’s going to help me personally give my 100% best performance each time I step onto the field?’”

At this point, achieving that best performance is about the details, he said. It’s up to each individual to address those moments where they can make adjustments to lift the show to the next level.

“We’ve got to fix little mistakes,” agreed trumpet player Andrew Detro. “There’s just little things that happen all over the place — you crack a note or you miss a step-off or don’t take steps on every single count. …

“But it’s just fixing the little things, trying to polish a little bit.”

There are perhaps more little things than usual to clean and focus on because of the style of the show the band is performing this summer.

Rather than something conceptual, topical or based on a specific genre or style of music, the Marching Patriots are telling a story. There is a village, attacked and destroyed by a dragon. A potential hero emerges and an epic battle ensues. In the end, the hero slays the dragon and saves his people.

It’s not a new concept — Roesch has noted that the inspiration comes from Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” — but it does require the band members to do things they may not have done in previous shows. At the top of that list is acting.

“They’ve been an absolutely fun group to teach, and they’ve grown so much not just in their musicianship, but their confidence and their communication and their comfort level with what we’re asking them to do,” said Roesch. “And it’s real easy to go ahead and listen to this music and go, ‘I really like the music,’ and then not be comfortable with, ‘OK, I want you to imagine that a huge fireball just ripped over your head and blew up a building behind you, and now I need you to panic and show me some urgency as you’re moving from this position to another position.’

“And so the characterizations and the professionalism that they’ve grown with in developing those roles has been part of the learning process.”

The hope now is that the process they’ve gone through will continue to make them one of the top bands at the Indiana State Fair.

Jay County appears to have a chance for another top-five finish based on this year’s results — it has placed in the top five in six of the last seven years, including five third-place finishes — though inclement weather has impacted the contest schedule. The Jay County Lions Band Contest was shifted to a stand-still format, and the Drums at Winchester was called off about halfway through, leaving no scores to be delivered.

That means there has been no event this year that has pitted all of the top contenders head-to-head.

Color guard member Kaidon Sills, who plays the role of the hero in the Jay County High School Marching Patriots’ show, raises his sword against the dragon (Callie Houck). (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)

 

The Marching Patriots — who will compete at 1:18 p.m. on a day for which the forecast calls for a cooler-than-usual high of 76 degrees — placed third at both the Archway Classic at Centerville and their home contest at the Jay County Fairgrounds. They finished fifth at the Spirit of Sound at Muncie Central.

Centerville won the opening contest of the summer at its home field but has not competed since. Defending Indiana State Fair Band Day champion Muncie Central has won all three contests it has entered, though Anderson closed the gap significantly at its Tartan Tournament of Bands last week. (The margin shrank from more than 2.5 points to just 0.25 points.)

“I know the growth that I’ve seen them make day to day, week to week. And I know, trajectory-wise, that their best performance is going to be on Friday night.

“What we have to do as a staff is to keep their eye on the prize. And that prize not being a trophy, but to keep their eye on, ‘What’s going to help me personally give my 100% best performance each time I step onto the field?’”

Drum major and mellophone player Ella Littler agreed with that assessment. Friday is about making the most of a final opportunity.

“I think the main thing is that we just need to leave it all on the field,” she said. “You know, we’ve worked hard all summer for this show and even during the school year for this show. And I feel like this is our last chance to get to play it, so we need to do it to our top ability.”