Marching band

Mr. Jones walks down the street of New York city in deep and depressing thought as the two words that he never imagined would refer to him repeat continuously in his mind: “laid off.” For weeks, he has been trying to find a job with little to no success, and has nowhere to turn. All he can think about are his 3 children, and how he will break the news to them about his unemployment. Mr. Jones feels as if all hope is gone, and with the little energy he has left walks up the final steps to his…

As the rhythmic music started to play, I realized that my routine would determine my personal overall placement and the placement of my team. The pressure was on and I had to take a few deep breathes before I could focus on the importance of the next minute and eight seconds. I continued to match my skills with the timing of the music while listening to the cheering of the crowd and my nervous heart beating erratically out of my chest. Once I completed my last tumbling pass and stuck it, I…

may seem effortless when I play the trombone, but it took me several challenges to get to where I am. When I was in sixth grade, a middle school band inspired me to join band in middle school. With my family being a “fresh off the boat” immigrant, however, I was insecure about myself since I was not much fluent in English. Worse than expected, my first band experience disappointed me. Trombone was not my priority, but other instruments seemed to have no vacancies. I also struggled to learn so…

If I could pinpoint the one day that has made the greatest impact on my life, it would be a day in the fall of sixth grade: the day I decided to join my school’s band. Not just the band; I wanted to play the drums in the band, which required a screening audition, a daunting task for a sixth grader whose only experience with percussion had been banging on an out-of-tune toy drum kit in his basement. During the screening audition, the teacher said to me, “When we are done, are you willing to…

He slid his hat further down his face as he slunk down the ledge, closer to the door. He stepped lightly, wincing as his heel clicked. If he made too much noise they would investigate. And when the crew discovered he lacked a pass, he'd be gone. He cracked the door open and slipped inside. The room, as he'd hoped, was full of large boxes, all cargo being delivered. He snuck around, finally settling behind a taller stack. He sat down, not realizing how cold and tired he was until the weight came…

megaphone. Our mouths dry and salty, the entire band hurried lazily to their last set hoping not to be singled out. I spun around and pushed my foot forward when bam! I smashed right into a tuba player. "Sorry," I grumbled in a not so sorry tone. My head ached slightly before the incident, so now it throbbed. "No, don't worry about it. I wasn't looking in the direction I headed." These run-ins caused an angry annoyance throughout the group. The marching band had spent all summer practicing here…

petite body captured the attention of every boy in the county, and I, too, unfortunately fell prey to her siren song. However, to my misfortune, our childhood friendship slowly grew apart in high school when she joined the cheer squad and I, the marching band. Society’s cruel labels forsook me and placed me at the bottom while she thrived at the top. It became clear that we existed in two different circles that forbid any intersections. After this realization, I tried to remove her from my…

I started out my first year playing first chair in the concert band which was the lower ranking band. The next year I get last trombone in the symphonic band. I decided to come back for one final year and try to get into the band for the best of the bests, the wind ensemble. “Kerrigan Catlin, are you ready?”,Dr. Hartman says in a soft voice. I walk in. He asked me how I have been and he expressed…

It has been said that you cannot improve yourself without trying things above your skill level. I fully stand by that statement. My personal experiences in band, chorus, and the swim team have all backed up that idea. In band, it’s all about how well you can play, and how much you can contribute to the group as an individual instrumentalist. Anybody can learn to play at a beginner’s level, but if you decide that that’s enough, then you’ll never be able to hold a candle to the people that have…

“Last Stop: Chicago Union Station” As the annoyingly familiar woman announced her daily sermon of train stops, I incorporated the dissonant melodies of the outside world with the orderly ones of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. But it would most likely be known to those crowded around me as the famous introduction to 2001: A Space Odyssey. My ritualistic walk to the Chicago Fine Arts Building for rehearsal began as my violin clanged against my back. The songs of those wearing suits…