STARKVILLE — Being in the Famous Maroon Band at Mississippi State University isn”t for the faint of heart.
This time of year, when students are in the thick of band camp, members run through a gauntlet similar to what a football player would experience during two-a-day practices.
MSU”s band concluded its weeklong camp Friday ahead of the start of classes on Monday. The band had five hours of outdoor practice as well as indoor rehearsal each day.
“It”s real intense,” MSU Director of Bands Elva Kaye Lance said, “but this is the only extra rehearsal time we get during the year.”
Incoming freshmen, especially those from smaller band programs in high school, experience a bit of shell-shock.
“Some, especially from outside the state, haven”t marched before because high school bands are small,” said senior band member Emily Smith. “For them, it”s nerve-wracking. But they come in with a great attitude and learn quickly.”
Smith embodies traits similar to most of her senior bandmates: tightly wired, multi-tasking students who use band as a release.
Smith is a biomedical engineering major, which requires her to have a secondary major of mathematics. Because of her lab schedule, she”s sometimes late to band practice. Even tougher to juggle is the amount of all-nighters that come with a tough major and band practice.
“But for me, I love band and wouldn”t drop it even though I probably should this year because of everything I have going on,” Smith said. “Once I get to Wednesday, I”m worn out. But it”s my outlet. The frustrations of academics and everything else, I can let go through band.”
Like most universities, MSU offers partial scholarships that typically cover the cost of books. Not all students receive scholarships. The majority dedicate the extra hours each day because they love music.
Senior music education major Greg King is in Air Force ROTC. His schedule includes physical training at 5 a.m. each day and usually doesn”t end until midnight. Part of being a music education major requires him to learn more than the trumpet he plays in the band.
“I have to learn all of the key trumpets but also everything in the brass family, woodwinds and strings,” King said. “The ones we don”t learn are like, guitar. It poses a lot of obstacles. The reason I decided to do music ed is because I love it. I did it before I joined ROTC. I wanted to be a band director before I decided I wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force.”
After juggling band and a demanding course load for three years, King and Smith agree band has been vital in them learning to manage time.
“You”re never going to make it unless everything is in order,” King said.
On the heels of expansion that saw MSU add two concert bands to the two it already had, the band”s roster is the largest it”s been in 20 years. MSU”s band has 338 members for the 2011-12 school year, up 118 members since 2002-03.
The band”s expansion has been spurred by the growth of the university itself, which has seen enrollment increase by 2,500 students in the last three years.
With more members comes more demands. Lance said she had to borrow horns, including new tubas that haven”t arrived yet, to meet the demands of the growing band. She also had to order 13 more uniforms.
“We didn”t have the equipment to outfit this year”s band, but that”s part of the logistical operation,” Lance said. “It”s a good problem to have.”
MSU”s band opened a new facility at the southeast corner of campus four years ago and has used it to recruit new band members. The band program provides multiple opportunities to perform, including marching band, four concert bands, two jazz bands and a basketball prep band. The resurgence of the football team also offers an exciting game day atmosphere for marching.
The best recruiters, though, are the band members themselves.
“I teach trumpet at Arlington High School outside Memphis, and I know one of the first things I do is try to recruit for the band,” King said. “We really try and get the best people in the South. Our recruiting is finally paying off. These high school kids see what we do and the fun we have.”
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Juliah Anderson, a freshman at MSU, practices playing the trumpet and marching with her other bandmates early Friday morning. Photo by: Luisa Porter
