Marching to the Beat of Their Own Drum
From the Leavenworth Echo, 1-27-2009
Chelsea Gorrow| Leavenworth Echo Staff Writer-
The Cascade High School band is strumming right along through the school year and on to some upcoming competitions, with new director Skylar Garcia leading the way.
Photo by Chelsea Gorrow. The Cascade High School band is gearing up for some pretty big competitions in the next few months. Connor Ashcraft, a sixth grader at Icicle River Middle School, says he is happy to be a part of it.
“We’re having a lot of fun in band. Pep-band has grown. Right now, we have 38 students,” said Band director Skylar Garcia, noting more students may be coming in at semester.
The pep-band performs at all home sporting events, playing favorites like “Louie Louie” and “Tequila.” But the students who participate are strictly volunteers, as playing at games is not a requirement, but students show up just the same.
“The students come to play some music just because they like it,” said Garcia. “And when you sign up for band, you are signing up for pep-band, marching band, and concert band so it’s a pretty big time commitment but we have a great group of students.”
Senior Taylor Knapp is one of Garcia’s students at Cascade High School that played the bass during the Kodiak vs. Chelan basketball game Jan. 21.
“It’s always been really exciting for me to play at the games and it’s always been my favorite part about concert band. It’s enjoyable, it’s loud and it’s awesome,” said Knapp.
The Pep-band also allows the Icicle River Middle School band students an opportunity to perform at home games with their peers.
“I’m learning some things on the drum set but I am playing the bass drum right now and the cowbell,” said sixth grader Carson Rieke, who has been playing with the pep-band at Cascade High School since the beginning of the basketball season. “Sometimes you get to play really soft songs and other times you get to play really hard songs so it’s a lot of fun.”
Bass-player Knapp has participated for the past six years when he was in middle school and now is helping the incoming band mates to continue.
“It’s really cool to work with the high schoolers because when you do well and you play it right, the high schoolers give you a lot of encouragement,” said Connor Ashcraft, sixth grader who plays a variety of instruments for the pep-band, including bass and cowbell. “What’s really cool is when you break something like a drumstick and you think you’re going to get in trouble, they tell you how awesome it is.”
Playing at the basketball games also has some other important benefits,”You get a really good seat and don’t have anyone blocking you when you watch the game,” joked Rieke.
No matter the reason for joining, the students all express a desire to continue performing at games, which is music to the ears of band director Garcia.
“People at the games come up to me and say ‘Hey! You’re doing wonderful job!’ or ‘Hey! Your pep-band sounds amazing! They’re doing great!’ That’s such an honor because the kids are doing great and I’m excited for what’s to come,” Garcia said.
Upcoming band competitions include Cascade’s participation in the High School Band Festival at Wenatchee High School on March 11 and the State Solo-Ensemble in Ellensburg April 25.
The Cascade High School Jazz Band is also working their way towards competition, going to Moscow, Idaho for the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the end of next month.
“Other than the occasional parts that are a little trickier, I am comfortable with all of my parts and ready for jazz fest,” said Bo Davis, senior and bass trombone player for jazz band. “I wish it was a month sooner than it is.”
The competition will be held Feb. 26.
“It’s a huge competition. The kids stay over night for five nights and they compete against schools from all over the U.S., so we’re really excited to do that,” Garcia said, excited for all his band students and for this job, his first after graduating from Washington State University. “I have the most amazing job in the world. I wake up every morning and I’m excited to go to work. I get to work with these kids who share my passion for music. They take the music, they run with it and they make it their own. To see the smiles on their faces when they finally get something, it’s so rewarding. There is nothing better.”
Knapp said his time in the high school band, although coming to an end at graduation, has been very rewarding as well and he encourages others to join.
“I urge parents to keep their kids in band, if they are in band, because I’m graduating in a semester and I’ve had so many cool experiences,” Knapp said. “Plus there are all the statistics out there that kids in band are less likely to do drugs and more likely to succeed. So it’s got a lot of benefits and it really is a lot of fun.”
Chelsea Gorrow can be reached at 509-548-5286 or reporter@leavenworthecho.com
