August 2007 Update

Today is Tuesday, July 31st. On the eve of August, the month in which the Berkley HS Marching Band will begin its hard work at band camp, I thought I'd update students and supporters alike on the band's status.

We've had three successful music-only rehearsals on our challenging "West Side Story" show. Band members have their work cut out for them with this one, but the progress is very encouraging. Musical numbers include "Maria," "Mambo," "Cool," "America (Mallet Percussion feature)," and "Tonight." I think the show strikes the perfect balance between challenging and worthwhile music and catchy, entertaining tunes.

Our drumline recently had an interesting opportunity. We were contacted by the John Edwards presidential campaign and asked to entertain outside the 2007 NAACP National Convention at Cobo Hall. After a long morning of playing cadences and supporting cheers on a beautiful Detroit day, we caught a glimpse of Senator Edwards as his limo pulled up. While the drumline was not able to march inside the convention hall (as we were originally told was likely), I did receive word from the Senator's spokesperson that he was very excited to have our drumline present when he arrived. Signed letters of thanks for the drumline members are on the way.

Our on-field drill is almost complete, thanks to the hard work of our drum majors Kate Fairman, Megan MacDonald, and Umberto Fournier, along with Drumline Section Leader Peter Rifel and DM alum, Beth Quisenberry.

Lastly, the Berkley Instrumental Boosters have graciously supported the Marching Band again, helping us purchase necessary equipment. This includes step ladders on which our two periphary drum majors can conduct. The bigger purchase was the immensely helpful Long Ranger IV. This will make a big difference in the efficacy of our rehearsals and we're looking forward to it.

The next event on the horizon is of course our camp beginning Monday, August 20th. Talk to everyone soon...

Mr. Shaw