Marching to a Summer Drummer

Each summer, the Panther Band holds a band camp where new and seasoned members begin the task of becoming a team. Band Camp is a crucial foundation, since the group dynamic changed in June with graduation.  The band must repackage as a new team, with incoming freshmen and additional classmates replacing last year’s graduates.

Planning for the camp takes weeks and is coordinated by the 24 members of the leadership team. The camp was held August 3-9 on the Benicia High School campus.  The planning meetings often ended near midnight, and weekends were fair game.  The goal for the leadership team was to ensure that every minute of band camp was smooth and meaningful for the 80 to 90 band members. 

The long days included drills, games and group activities. During the sessions when marching formations were practiced, the students worked on precise tilt of instruments, speech, footwork, head position and even the direction of the eyes.

The new members were schooled on the importance of teamwork and blending in. No one could look out of place when standing still (yes, people can stand still in different ways!) or marching. Everything was scrutinized. stood in formation, with and without instruments, while silently facing forward awaiting further instruction.  This helped them learn to focus and avoid distractions.  

Band camp isn’t just hard work and drills. It’s also the humor and fun which help tighten the group bond. 

This year, the theme was “Classic TV Sitcoms”, which included Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days and The Brady Bunch. The band formed smaller teams on the first day, each given a team color and a sitcom.  On “Dress As Your Sitcom” day, some Benicians may have been lucky enough to spot The Fonz at 6:15 a.m. in a local Starbucks for a morning leadership meeting.

The much anticipated "Skit Night" was where the teams shined. They competed against each other and brought the comedy, keeping fellow band members and the staff in stitches.  

On the last day of camp, parents and friends (including at least 10 alumni who graduated just eight weeks earlier) came to witness the closing ceremonies. This was where the "new" Panther Band demonstrated all it had learned.  

It was dramatic to hear the band coming from around the building, getting louder and louder as they chanted and put themselves in formation for the audience. Their strong voices bounced off the buildings as they responded to commands, stunning some new band parents. They performed, competed in the "drill down" and received awards.

Many freshmen shined during the award ceremony. This was their week where many started as quiet kids and then came out of their shell in five days to be loud, spirited and driven. It was amazing to see the transformation. 

It is this unity and the making of a new "family" that will carry them through a grueling season of long days and long practices. It is also a tremendous boost for the incoming freshmen who now start school with 80+ new friends. The band mantra  — Pride! Discipline! Unity! —is a powerful tool everyone will use inside and outside of the classroom and the band room. 

They will also be ready to march next spring, when they travel to New York City to join the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.