Motorists entering Madison County now see signs honoring the high school marching band for its 2011 national championship. So, what do you do for an encore performance in 2012?
Band director Nick Golding said this year’s show was born on Youtube.
“It was a Youtube video with a poem this guy had written for some contest and the poem was called ‘The Lost Generation,’” said Golding. “It was a palindrome and when you read it down, it was pretty bleak and depressing and then as the poem reversed, it had the exact opposite meaning.”
Golding thought the poem would be great for a halftime production, with the first half of the performance including a dark, haunting feel, which gives way to an inspirational and hopeful sound and message in the second half.
“I just thought it was a really neat concept and I thought it would be cool for a marching band show,” said Golding.
The band director composed the music for the first half of the show, then had his friend, Chris Creswell in Jacksonville, write the second half of the performance. A third person provided the percussion.
As the band plays the music on Friday nights, a recording of Madison County band students reading the poem is amplified through speakers. Golding said he hopes people will see that the “lost generation” assumptions some have about today’s youth aren’t accurate.
“Every day we hear this generation is in bad shape and how this is the worst generation out of the last several, and you hear things about how they’re lazy and have no focus or drive,” said Golding. “But yet every single day I’m with these kids that are working 12 hours days at band camp and showing up for rehearsals. And I feel like I see a completely different side of this generation. And that’s what I’m hoping to get across. Everything you see in the front half of the show is what you’re hearing about this generation, but the second half is the side I get to see every day.”
While last year’s band earned attention for its national championship, the 2012 band members are carrying on the program’s positive momentum.
For instance, the Madison County symphonic band has been invited to attend the University of Georgia’s 63rd annual January high school music festival. The band will perform before about 1,200 people in the UGA Performing Arts Center.
“This is a really big honor for the them and makes me really proud,” said Golding, who noted that only seven bands are selected to serve as guest performers during the band clinics.
One of the bands is from Alabama, while some of the other performing groups are from perennial marching band big wigs, such as Kell High School or Starr’s Mill High School.
“You send in recordings and they select bands off those and this year they had a large pool of bands,” said Golding. “Out of all the bands selected, most of them have two or three ensembles at the school. They’ll have symphonic winds comprised primarily of juniors and seniors. So, we’re the only band that will be there that has one symphonic band that has all of our performing members. The recording we submitted, that was our freshmen, our sophomores, our best players, our worst players and everybody in between. That’s the thing that made me the proudest of the selection.”
Golding said most symphonic bands wear tuxedos and evening gowns for the big performance. And he wants the MCHS band to look sharp. So, the band is trying to raise funds to help cover the costs of attire.
“We’re representing Madison County on a very large stage,” said Golding. “And we want to present the group in the most positive light possible.”
Anyone interested in contributing to the cost of band evening wear can email Kim Darwin of the MCHS band boosters at ckdarwin@windstream.net.
Golding also said the MCHS symphonic band, which includes 75 students, will participate in the University of South Carolina honor band clinic in February.
“We are one of only two ensembles selected for that,” he said.
While the symphonic band will see plenty of action after Christmas, the marching band has a full slate this fall — and not just on Friday nights.
This year, the Madison County marching band is competing in the highest possible band classification — which is still 5A. The band is doing this despite its youth. Golding said last year’s band included 23 seniors. This year’s band only has about 10.
“They’ve been growing quickly; they’re doing a great job,” said Golding.
The band director said he asked his group if they wanted to compete in the same classification as last year or if they wanted to compete in 5A and face tougher competition. The band opted for the tougher schedule.
“That was kind of a philosophical shift for us,” said Golding. “We’ve done quite well competitively the last several years. We’ve been going up against bands that are pretty small like us and been dominating. So I put it out to the kids, ‘Would you rather perform and 3 p.m. in the afternoon and win a lot of trophies, but nobody is going to see you, or would you rather perform in the big class, and not necessarily win, but be under the lights where everybody would see you perform?’ And the students overwhelmingly voted to perform under the lights.”
This year’s MCHS band competition schedule is as follows: Sept. 25, the UGA marching exhibition as Cedar Shoals; Sept. 29, the Oconee Marching Classic at Baldwin High School in Milledgville; Oct. 6, the Lake Lanier Tournament of Bands at Chestatee High School; Oct. 13, the Blue Ridge Mountain Marching Festival in Fannin County; Oct. 20, the Greater Atlanta Marching Festival at Rockdale County High School; and Oct. 27 — two shows: the Bands of America Super Regional at the Georgia Dome and the Georgia Invitational Band Championship at Hiram High School.
