Voices Ringing Blog /

The Carroll High School Marching Patriots perform their 2019 competition show "JoyRide" during the preliminary round of the 2019 Mid States Band Association AAA Championships.  The piece features many familiar melodies -- how many can you name?

Many high school music programs purchase pre-packaged shows for their marching bands. There is usually only one pro to this: It’s less expensive than a custom design.  At Carroll, we design the marching band show uniquely to maximize its effectiveness and its educational value to the students. By writing the music myself, I can cater to the specific strengths of each student. Also, it’s rewarding to hear our awesome band members make my compositions come alive as we move through the season.

The design team consists of:

• A music composer
• A drill writer who writes the movements of the members that you see on the field
• A visual designer who creates the shows imagery, including color guard uniforms, flags, and physical set design
• An electronics sound designer who adds supplemental aural layers that add to the acoustic sounds of the band
• A collaborative staff (Mr. Carl Soucek, Mr. Aaron West '07, and guard director, Ja’Malh Wallace) that work for months to produce the show to its peak effectiveness.

At Carroll, the design process is ongoing throughout the year.  We are already thinking about our potential show ideas for next year, though the current season is still active.  The staff meets regularly to brainstorm ideas that we would like to portray. Some years, ideas stem from a visual concept (like our 2016 show “Connect”, which used many LEDs). Other years, we might want to focus on a specific emotion or physical trait. It all depends on what comes to the table during our design meetings.

At Carroll, we design the marching band show uniquely to maximize its effectiveness and its educational value to the students.

Once we have an idea that we think will be exciting to explore, we develop a storyline for the show.  Here’s an example, using this year’s show, JoyRide:

• Movement 1 portrays an excited person riding a roller coaster, and you can hear hints of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” weaved through the original music.
• Movement 2 is all about a bike ride, featuring snippets of “Bicycle” by Queen
• Movement 3 is about flying and soaring, featuring Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”
• Movement 4 portrays a race car. Music hints at “Mario Kart” and other driving related songs. e culminate in a full-fledged “Ode to Joy” moment at the end.

We string the four movements together in a seamless production with exciting music and lots of coordination in the marching band and color guard.

When I write the music, I take many factors into consideration.  Will the music be exciting to the audience?  Is there a variety of styles and textures?  Are the students challenged, but able to perform at a high degree of excellence?  What will excite the audience (and judges) every 30-40 seconds during our show?  Will it be fun for the staff and students to put together?  As the season progresses, the staff continuously meets to find ways to enhance the music and drill. By the time we reach our last few performances, it’s all about the students’ emotional investment in the show!