Graduation Speech Essay

The Marching Band program of the Greece Central School District (GCSD) provides every child with the opportunity to perform and compete in a unique way. Through the acquisition of specific knowledge, skills and the development of appropriate disciplines, these experiences

The drum majors’ jobs include leading rehearsals five day a week, organizing Saturday’s pep rallied, and bonding with their fellow band members. They also must be in control of the football game. This means they must know what is going on in the game at all time, in order to call for the appropriate songs or stadium cheers. The most difficult part of their job is providing their fans with the level of excellence and finesse that people expect of the Million Dollar

The achievements of the Edgewood drum line has lead my transition from childhood to adulthood in many ways. My director has shown me how to be not only a good percussionist, but also a good leader. From these leadership qualities, I was able to lead our drum line to success in 2016. The the indoor drum line finals at the MEPA finals in 2016 where the Edgewood Drumline was awarded first place for our performance. This accomplishment was many years in development after getting third and second place for 3 years in a row. This achievement meant a lot to me and my peers at Edgewood, as it is one of the most major endeavors that Edgewood's music department has accomplished.

According to several band students, middle school and high school alike, the students were standing on the sidelines with their instruments for a total of 30 minutes. Consequently, the Drumline members

For 4 years, I’ve dedicated my efforts to the people I call family so that we could finally reach our goal an all superior year. By being marching captain, I have come to understand the importance of patience, open mindedness and what it feels like to dedicate my all to something. I have learned that not everyone learns at the same pace and that there is a creative solution that will enable anyone to succeed. These lessons that I have acquired from band are ones that guide now me in everything I do.

“Put on a show!” The director’s command echoed across the field as the drum corps began its routine in front of thousands of spectators. What attracts people to be involved in such a demanding and strenuous activity? The concept of drum corps has changed drastically over the last 200 years. Tracing its origins from before the American Revolution through the Civil War and into the modern era, today’s concept of drum corps has evolved from a military necessity to a major form of entertainment.

“Put on a show!” The director’s command echoed across the field as the drum corps began its routine in front of thousands of spectators. What attracts people to be involved in such a demanding and strenuous activity? The concept of drum corps has changed drastically over the last 200 years. Tracing its origins from before the American Revolution through the Civil War and into the modern era, today’s concept of drum corps has evolved from a military necessity to a major form of entertainment.

The summer of 2013 was both a time of celebration, as I had just graduated middle school, and a time of insecurities, as I started my journey as a member of my high school’s marching band. In middle school, I was normally a shy, quiet person, so it comes as no surprise that I felt uncomfortable at my first marching band practice. In addition, very few of my band friends in middle school had continued into high school marching band, creating a feeling of isolation over me.

We march on out to the stadium, the percussion player taps on his snare every so gently, with the flick of his rist he plays a beat and our feet roll in time against the pavement. The band looks uniform, like marching soldiers. People line up against the curb, moving their eyes with our steps, as they bend a curve on their face in joy.

Imagine this: You’re playing football for your high school team, you have the ball and you’re running to score, except his football is around 90 pounds, and not only are you running to score the touchdown, you have to keep in step with 100 other players. This is what students do year round in marching band. We have to memorize how to play three songs and around 100 spots based on where we need to go on the field, all while keeping our backs, shoulders, and instruments straight, carrying an instrument that weighs 40 to 100 pounds, and marching in time with 100 other kids. All of these components are just the little parts that lead into something much bigger. We practice as much as other sports, every person counts as part of the band’s score, and what you do for marching band meets the requirements to be called a sport.

I joined the Marine Corps looking for a challenge. I wanted to open doors for a new career and longed to have a positive impact on the world around me. Looking back five years later, I realize I found all that I originally sought, but I’ve also found something profoundly satisfying and meaningful that I never knew I was missing.

The program consists of 10, one hour sessions with 10 to 12 participants, with activities covering topics of self-responsibility, emotional expression, peer relationships, values, identity, harmony and teamwork. The structure of the program offers a cognitive behavioural approach where fun and experiential learning using hand drumming techniques are used to draw analogies between the participants’ connections of their experiences in the drum group, and their real world experiences. The program is non-competitive and is not focused on the problems or behaviour of the individuals, but aims to build on the strengths of the participants through teamwork.

Sophomore year of marching came. This year was a surprise for everyone. With our show being named ‘Masterminder.’ The band members marching were under control by the color guard soloist; the puppeteer. This show was pretty exciting, too. The judges also thought that. We made it past regionals AND semi-state. What? Yeah, we all thought the same thing. We had made it. We had FINALLY made it after so many years of just trying to get past regionals for once. It was a bitter-sweet feeling waiting for placement awards at Lucas Oil Stadium. The instructors went around to each band student one by one. The congratulated us on an amazing season. I started tearing up, but that isn’t surprising. As we marched our way out of Lucas Oil Stadium that night, I knew that this was only the beginning of a new generation for the Marching Marksmen.

“Alright kids, go back and run it one more time” drilled the proud marching band director. As the kids grunted and moaned, they returned to their spots, determined to make this next run of the show better than the last. Little did they know the director is just as determined as they are, thinking of ways the band as a whole can improve upon their last enactment of the show.

Well, this is it, the day all of us have been waiting for has finally arrived. It seems like only yesterday we were picking our noses and flicking them at innocent bystanders or yelling childish phrases like, "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" or, wait, that was yesterday. Never mind. Anyways.