Seneca Valley pride shines in marching band
JACKSON TWP — The Seneca Valley “Roaring Raider” Marching Band director teaches music for one reason — the students.
“It’s like you experience something in life that’s so changing that then you want to share it with somebody else,” said Varden Armstrong, who’s entering his 24th year as the marching band’s director and his 29th year with the district.
From an outsider’s perspective, band directors can appear harsh toward their students when trying to coax their best out of them. Learning sections of the show chunk-by-chunk, sometimes eight beats at a time, requires discipline and perseverance, according to Autumn Holmes, a senior tenor-saxophone player and drum major.
“Every day, I know we get an inch closer to our goal, and we get better and better,” she said.
Members spend hours in the sun running back to their reset points, analyzing what can be improved from the previous run and building muscle memory. Adding instrumentalists who must clearly articulate their breathing and mouth movements to get the perfect sound out of their instruments, and colorguard throwing flags and heavy wooden rifles into the air, creates a recipe for collisions. Marching band members are trained to put their all into every performance and if someone gets in their path, to march through them.
“We’re all working toward the same goal and all have that same goal in mind,” said Ellie Stewart, a senior flute and piccolo player.
The 182-student ensemble recently finished about two weeks of band camp and spends each rehearsal perfecting parts of the show. It rehearses two days per week from 3 to 5 p.m. working up to its first performance of the halftime show on Friday, Aug. 22.
“You get up in the morning because you know in a couple weeks, we’re going to be playing shows that are amazing,” said Jeb Kellar, a senior trombone player. “We know what the Seneca Valley Marching Band can do.”
Between band camp and when the school year begins, the vibe of rehearsal is more relaxed, Holmes said. The majority of the show is learned during band camp and members work both as an ensemble and in their instrument subsections during rehearsals to refine different sections.
“There are so many different things that a band member is doing while they’re performing,” Armstrong said. “I think people don’t realize how hard it is.”
When learning a show, performers start at one position and march toward a different dot on the field for each set, which is a small portion of the show. The movements each member makes in each set are what forms the ensemble’s marching visuals.
Once the dots are memorized, a performer locks into the step size they needed to get to their dot on time. The visual looks complete only if each member arrives to their dot at the same time.
By the time a marching band reaches its first performance, playing the notes and maneuvering around the field have become muscle memory. The rest of the visual performance comes from the posture and attitude of the performer. The musical performance comes from the ensemble’s articulation and dynamics.
“When we have an audience and can see everything we’ve worked on come together, that’s a very cool feeling knowing all that we accomplished,” Ellie said.
Practicing for parades is easier since the band perfects one song for the performance, Jeb said. Practicing the marching involves making sure members stay in line with each other, create even spacing between lines and stay straight during turns. The member on the outside of the line during turns must take larger steps than the other members to keep the line straight.
“Whether it’s poms, color guard (or) instrumentalists, everyone’s motivated to complete the big vision together,” Ellie said.
The band also plays their halftime show after some parades, such as the Evans City Halloween Parade. Just like in the sun, the drums, brass instruments and even woodwinds get hot and heavy during parades.
Ellie said the physical demand of marching band has also taught her the importance of self care in staying hydrated and reminding herself to rest and prepare her body for the next rehearsal or performance.
Like other team sports, the standard the band maintains depends on the individual members and how they push each other. Holmes said the seniors have learned if they set the example, others will follow.
“It’s making sure that you look into yourself and do the things that you’re supposed to do to exceed those expectations,” she said.
