7/29/2010 6:00:00 AM Bands march in different directions
The Madison Central Jaguar Band began its annual band camp Monday with more than 240 members in the group which will perform a tribute to the band Queen in its halftime show this year.
By STEVEN G. WATSON Associate Editor
Precision marching and and music memorization will be the goal over the next few weeks as local band members are set to brave the summer heat while taking part in their annual band camps.
The Madison Central Jaguar Band began camp this week with one of the largest groups they've seen in more than seven years, while the Ridgeland High School Titan Band will kick off its first week of full rehearsals on Monday.
Both bands have been highly successful in recent years winning top honors at state contests, but this year their respective directors have decided to change things up a bit.
The Jaguars, known for their straight-laced precision marching and complex music selections are loosening up while the normally unpredictable and sometimes comical Titans are taking a more serious approach.
Queen is king at MCHS
After featuring songs like Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" and jazz classics like "Channel One Suite" in recent years, it might be a surprise to some when Madison Central's band blasts out the notes to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We are the Champions."
It's a new year and a new direction for the band which will pay tribute to Queen in a show entitled "Bicycle Race" after one of the band's classic songs.
Director Duncan Goff said it should be a fun year.
"It's going to be an exciting show and should be a crowd pleaser," Goff said. "We've done stuff like this before, but we have gotten away from it and thought it would be good to try it again."
The show will feature a compilation of Queen songs, but as usual will feature the precision marching the group is known for.
On Monday, the MCHS band was hard at work braving the summer heat putting its members through the paces with numbers rivaling that of 10 years ago before the opening of Ridgeland High School.
Goff reports they have nearly 240 members this year and that's only 10th through 12th graders. There are 110 ninth graders marching for Rosa Scott.
"We had a sophomore camp at the beginning of June," Goff said. "We brought them in and got them on the marching fundamentals, but it's a new year and like every year you have to work at it." Goff had a trip planned this week to go watch Drum Corps International's (DCI) performance in Hattiesburg. DCI is basically professional marching bands composed of elite college-aged musicians. "It gets the kids fired up for marching season," Goff said.
Titans pursue goals
With shows depicting a jailbreak, aliens and Dr. Seuss characters over the last few years, the Ridgeland High School Band has become known for it's irreverent productions, but that will change dramatically this year.
Director Jay McArthur said his group of 145 will "dial it back a bit," for their 2010 field show entitled "Pursuit."
"As in the pursuit of goals," McArthur said. "It's something that's going to be intriguing, but on a different level.
"It will still be a memorable and entertaining show," he added. "We have some ideas we're still staging that I think will be very interesting."
The show will feature the Gloria Estefan song "Reach" and a classical piece by Manuel De Falla entitled "Ritual Fire Dance."
The show closer will be piece actually entitled "Pursuit" that is featured in performances by the group Cirque Du Soleil.
"This year our music is not quite as recognizable as it has been previously, but I think we'll still manage to stay on the entertaining side of things," McArthur said.
Ridgeland gets started in earnest next Monday with 8 a.m. marching practices and afternoon rehearsals lasting until 4:30 p.m.
