High School bands prepare for festival season

March is always a busy month for the Manchester High School music programs. With Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) festival competitions scheduled March 13 and 14, and Solo and Ensemble festival the following weekend, the bands have been honing their skills and are preparing for a home stage concert tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

This year’s festivals have an added bit of excitement because the band’s preparation for these events has been documented for a “reality” type TV show on Michigan State University’s public broadcasting station, WKAR. The program, “Forte,” shares the stories of Michigan high school band and orchestra programs as they prepare for the state’s music festival.

Although the raw footage actually was recorded a few weeks ago, it will probably be next fall before the Manchester segment is broadcast. The labor-intensive editing process for such a program takes time.

Filming for the Forte program included all aspects of preparation for the festivals, including basic warm ups and scales, to sightreading and practicing the actual selections that will be performed at the festival. The entire preparation process starts right after the holiday break and encompasses 10-11 intensive weeks of preparation and practice.

The MHS music program is truly a success story that has evolved over the past two decades. Director Jared Throneberry arrived in Manchester in the fall of 1996 to a band of about 40 members. Now, 19 years later, the music curriculum boasts about 90 instrumentalists between the Jazz and Concert bands, plus a choir that was reinstated about six years ago after the program had lain dormant for more than 20 years.

While in marching band at Eastern Michigan University, Throneberry had met Erin Haywood but they went their separate ways after graduation. When in 1998, an opening came available for a Flag Corps coordinator, she applied for the position and was hired. The couple was married 18 months later, and the rest–as they say–is history.

“(Erin) knew going in that she didn’t just marry the man, she married the program,” Throneberry said.

The program has grown steadily and substantially over the years and Throneberry says his job as director is more of a “coordinator” who “adjusts the knobs” while the students do the real work. And while that is essentially true, the competitive field in which the bands perform at MSBOA Festivals are indeed a reflection of the hard work and training that the directors provide. At the middle school, where formal band classes begin, there is a continuation of a solid base of musical interest which started at the elementary level.

Manchester has also hosted auditions for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and has had as many as 25-30 local students try out for this competitive program.

“That’s more than I thought would do it,” Throneberry said. “But I try to encourage the kids to go to anything that would enhance their musical abilities.”

At the MSBOA Festival, the band will perform three prepared pieces selected from a required list. They will also be given an unfamiliar piece of music and allowed five minutes to prepare to play it before the judges, who are generally current or former band directors, college professors, and private instructors. This allows them to be judged on overall musical experience and expertise. After the performances, the bands will be given a rating from I (highest) to V (lowest). Generally, Manchester receives I and II Division ratings on their festival programs.

Throneberry describes the Festival as much like a gymnastic meet, where a band competes against a standard rather than directly in competition with another band.

“It’s really a matter of asking, ‘have you done your best?'” he explains.

The Solo and Ensemble Festivals held the weekend of March 20-21 will also showcase individual and small groups of Manchester musicians. These students will also be judged in a similar manner, only in a smaller setting. While participating in the Band Festival is a required performance for band members, the Solo and Ensemble Festival is voluntary, but many students do choose to perform in this as well.

As one more step in preparing to “do their best,” the band will host a community concert tomorrow night, Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. at the high school performing arts center. According to Throneberry, it’s just another strategy to increase the students’ comfort level with a public performance.

“It’s just more people listening, judging, and giving feedback,” he adds.

Your presence is welcomed as the band performs with pride this week.

Reported by Mike Austin.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.