When most people think of fear they probably think of things like heights, spiders, and clowns. However, one major fear is often overlooked, the fear of expectation. James Campbell High School’s (JCHS) marching band’s new show ‘Prism’ has brought this fear amongst some of its marchers.
JCHS’s marching band is one of the most prestigious and well-known high school bands on the island of O’ahu. They have obtained a grand total of 70+ competition wins throughout their many years and were even invited to play in the “National Independence Day Parade” hosted in Washington D.C. in 2023. Though the marching band has achieved many feats and have brought a great sense of pride to their band, it has also harbored the weight of high expectations to their current marchers.
The performance of a marching band is rated on three main criteria: music, visuals, and general effect. The music category grades the band’s tone and quality, as well as its accuracy to the original arrangement. The visuals category grades the band’s marching form and cohesiveness of their movements, as well as the color guard’s showmanship. Finally the general effect category grades the performance on its overall impact on the audience through its blending of music and visuals. With these criteria in mind, many people consider marching a difficult task as performers are not only expected to remember how to play entire musical scores off the top of their heads, but the choreography to go along with it. Their scores can be filled with complexly arranged notes which require precision and harmony amongst the band to create a great-sounding performance. The choreography, on the other hand, requires marchers to move and twist their bodies in perfect sync with their peers to create a visually intriguing performance. As performers are expected to perform both musically and physically at the same time, many performers agree it takes a great amount of practice and dedication to do so.
To add onto these already high expectations, the marchers do not only need to remember their own performances, but also of those around them to both help with the band’s harmony and safety. By remembering the performances of their peers, it aids marchers with syncing with one another and keeps marchers from bumping into each other, being hit by instruments, or being hit by color guard’s flags, rifles, and sabres. One mistake can be costly as it may ruin the experience of the audience and judges or may even lead to injury amongst the marchers. JCHS’ marching band is also 3A-sized which makes them one of the largest high school marching bands on the island. This means that each of JCHS’ performers need to remember more than that of a smaller sized band.
Along with the physical expectations that need to be met, the marchers also need to be mentally strong to perform accordingly. The marchers perform in front of hundreds, or even up to thousands of people which may spark fear in some of the marchers due to things like stage fright or the fear of messing up. Additionally, the JCHS’ marching band’s previous year’s show titled “Dusk Descends” has played a role in contributing to the mental weight of the marchers. The show was performed at Kamehameha High School’s iconic “Tournament of Bands” competition in which the JCHS’ marching band scored a ranking of ‘Superior’, the highest show ranking possible.
Eleventh grader, Abigail Joy Valle, is a current clarinet player in JCHS’ marching band. Valle said, “I didn’t really know how to feel about our show this year at first. My expectations were very low compared to last year, but my expectations grew more as the marching season went on. I guess I was stuck in the past, but performing the show [Prism] for the first time made me really excited for more. I’m glad to see all the things our band has done this year and I’m excited for our final performances as the season nears its end.”
All things considered, though the JCHS marching band and their audience have great expectations for this year’s show “Prism,” they also have their high hopes for it being an enjoyable show for all of those involved.
