It's Britney, Rebels!
“Drum majors, is your band ready?”
Silence.
If you’ve ever performed or witnessed a performance—orchestral concert, play, dance recital, you name it—you know the intensity in that moment before art is set in motion. The moment the curtain is drawn, and the room holds its breath in anticipation.
On Saturday, nearly 200 members of our Rebel Marching Band took the field in competition at the Trussville Marching Invitational, the first competition of our marching season. I was there on the field, holding attention at standby with my mellophone in hand, holding my breath. There’s a unique anxiety that wells up in the performer during that moment the curtains are drawn. Excitement to showcase something you’ve poured hours into, intense focus on executing the skillset you’ve practiced, fear you’ll mess up, desire to score well—and, this time, there was sadness knowing it’s my senior year. I know opportunities to march with a captive audience are slipping away from me.
There’s a whole lot going on in the silence. And, I’ll admit, there was a bit more silence than usual this time. The VHHS Rebel Marching Band has witnessed a sort of trend regarding the sound system—meaning there’s normally some issues with it. While Dr. Horton was figuring things out, I had time to reflect on what was happening, on what felt so special about that awkward moment, that extended pause. Now, I think it was just the ephemerality of it all. The nature of time leaving us, of a moment being over and gone before we really comprehend how special it is. Blame senior year for making me philosophical, but I think this is true about everything we do. Sports, academics, dances and after-parties, the arts… all of it is temporary. High school is temporary!
So enjoy the silence, contemplate the pause, comprehend the magic of how fleeting it all is.
The sound system got set up, eventually. The drum majors gave their salute, and the show came and went. The Britney Spears selections—Toxic, Oops!... I Did it Again, and Womanizer—received passionate cheers from the audience. We actually did a fantastic job!
The judges awarded us the highest possible score—a one—and the titles of best in class color guard, majorettes, danceline, and band.
If you got to the end of this article, I hope you see that the greatest thing about the performing arts isn’t the medals awarded, but how it reminds us that life is precious.
Go Rebels, and Man I Love This Band.
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