Next Year
In the next week I will be making the decision on where to compete next year and what events we will do as a competitive marching band. In order to lead you through this process I am listing the pros and cons of each possibility below so we can, together, make the right decision.
I love all the kids, parents, and staff members here at Roslyn; you are my family. I believe we should all consider what is best for our band. Whichever competitions and events we decide to do, the kids will enjoy their marching band experience.
There are two conferences we could participate in next year - the New York State Field Band Conference or US Bands. We took a few votes with the straw poll and Facebook page and it is very close to 50/50 on both, so I will obviously take into consideration the votes as well. If you want to vote you can at http://strawpoll.me/2926881
We did the New York State Field Band Conference for 11 years and then tried the US Bands for 2 years. I am totally torn on going either way as you will see by reading on. The end of our season in the New York State Field Band Conference is at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse which is always indoors; this event next year would fall on the weekend of Halloween. From my own view, my daughters cried when I told them that I might not be around on Halloween. I realize that my job may take me away for Halloween, I missed many before, but have to put the program first sometimes. So I totally understand, there are pros and cons to each conference that we all must consider.
Florida Trip on
The Florida trip will be on no matter which conference we compete in, pending BOE approval. Last year we had the largest ratio of kids going, about 90 out of 115. We traditionally bring about 60 kids. There are two reasons why more kids were able to go on the Florida trip. We eliminated the Syracuse Trip which saved about $300 per kid and a lot more for families who feel they had to go to the Carrier Dome. Then some parents told me the reason so many families and band members went to Florida was the fact that I set the trip dates more than a year in advance; earlier notice greatly impacts the cost of airfare and hotel rates. In the past when only about half the band went we proposed the trip and set the dates about 5 months in advance.
A Decision will be made very soon
Due to the fact that hotels in Syracuse and Florida will be cheaper earlier, and the fact that people set up their family vacations about a year in advance, I will be making the decision very soon.
Field Band Conference Pros
- Indoor venue for Championship
- All local shows must have an indoor site immediately available to run a show. Performing outside and getting rained on is a rarity
- Dates are set in stone, sometime in April, we know who is at each show, what time we are on, and this never changes.
- We are a part of the Long Island Marching Band Community. Of the 15 competitive bands on Long Island, 12 compete in the Field Band Conference and 3 do US Bands.
- Band director run conference, this is not a money making group
- Ticket prices are cheaper for all venues, they have rules for this
- I would choose to have the Columbus Day weekend off in its entirety as we did for 10 years competing in the Field Band Conference.
Field Band Conference Cons
- It costs more money to go to the Championship in Syracuse, about $300 for each kid and a lot more for families to go to the finals.
- Judges place us below the same bands regardless of our performance level.
- The Championship is on the Halloween weekend this coming year.
US Bands Pros
- The championship does not impact Halloween, we will have a choice of which championship to go to, at MetLife or Allentown, the only problem is, we will not know their dates until August.
- Band members and family members save money by no Syracuse Trip.
US Bands Cons
- They give us dates very late, usually in late July or August They do not let us know what time our band is on until the week before. They are cryptic about scheduling.
- They do not let us know what bands are competing in our class until the week before
- They frequently move dates of events.
- Met Life/Allentown Championships are all outdoors and will run in frigid temperatures, with rain, wind, etc. The bands in this conference do it all the time. The upstate bands don't.
- This conference is run by the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps as their fundraiser. Ticket prices are very high at all events.
- Classification should work in our favor since we are a larger band in Group 5A, This worked in 2013 however they didn’t do that with our scores this past year. We are not getting the scores we expect in either conference.
Newsday or Columbus Day
I strongly feel that we have to do one of these high profile shows to let everyone in the tri-state area know who we are, the publicity is astronomical for either of these events.
Columbus Day Pros
- Televised if we get to the booth by 3pm (50% chance this will happen).
- Obviously a great venue to march in NYC.
Columbus Day Cons
- Columbus Day is on a holiday, we lose a day off
- We do not get our report time until the day before, so we have to go in and wait for 3 hours to step off, busses must be ordered in advance.
- Finding a bathroom in the city after the busses leave is difficult. They will not let our busses stay with us at the beginning of the parade route.
- Band students carrying Bass Drums and Quints through this very long day, I am not comfortable with this.
- This parade is as unorganized as it can get.
Newsday Pros
- It is televised over and over again on Thanksgiving Day and other times on the Optimum/Cablevision channels all over the tri-state area. (We perform at Newsday in mid-October).
- 70 Long Island Bands perform in this non-competitive event. Since we skipped these two years we have not been a part of that community.
- It is close by, at Mitchell Field (used to be at Hofstra)
- We look amazing compared to these non-competitive bands.
Newsday Cons
- We have a double whammy week with a Wednesday night rehearsal and Thursday night performance. We cannot cancel one of our 9 rehearsals for anything.
- It is a late school night. Our kids have to stay till the end for the massed bands performance. They have traditionally done their homework and studying in the stands.
In Conclusion
Right now, as I write this, I am leaning very slightly towards the Syracuse/Newsday Track which we did for 11 years, in part because I am still upset at seeing the kids so cold this past Saturday night, not to mention my bones are still cold thinking about it. In addition, the US Bands this year did two things that greatly concerned me. They switched dates frequently, we were lucky we only caught it once with the moving of the NYS Championships, which cost us a “back to back” show weekend which I never do. They also did not give out any information to us at all about who was at the show, what time we are on, and that drives me absolutely nuts. I don’t think that this works out with any program and especially ours. We are an organized bunch, with kids and parents doing a million things. A date or even a time change is monumental. For my first 10 years here we locked down the schedule by April 1st. This year it was in flux all season. In terms of Columbus Day, I did the parade with Mineola 10 times and it was a well organized machine. It was short, less strenuous on the students and I received dates and times months in advance. During the last two years it was not this at all. In addition, parades are rough on bands, our bodies are not meant to carry these heavy drums for these long periods of time. I know it only affects only the drumline but I look at the program as if every kid is my own child. Also, after talking to many band directors who pulled out of the Columbus Day parade due to the same issues, the fact that I did not have a report time or even an acknowledgement of us being accepted; I had a bad feeling in my stomach about it all and decided to pull out. My number one priority is the kids being happy, healthy and taken care of and when I cannot feel comfortable doing those three things I need to regroup and plan so that I can. This is really what everything in this blog post is about, the kids.
I look forward to determining the best course of action to take for the band. We run a child centered program and the kids are always the top priority!
