On Oct. 28, PA’s Fabulous Marching Cavaliers (FMC) finished their season as state champions in their class and 8th out of 34 bands overall. On Nov. 4, they placed 2nd overall in the Tidewater Marching Championships at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
Their show, “Bring Down the Wall,” was an interpretation of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and included music by Dmitri Shostakovich (“Ballet Suite No. 4”), Nena (“99 Red Balloons”), the Ramones (“Blitzkrieg Bop”), Beethoven (“Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9), and Phillip Glass (“Heroes” Symphony). Director of Bands John Boyd found his inspiration for the show in the 2017 action thriller “Atomic Blonde,” starring Charlize Theron. “I just love the imagery of it. I get very nostalgic for the time,” Boyd says. “The year the Berlin Wall came down, I was 15; I remember what life was like at the time and this incredible feeling of freedom and joy when it came down.”
Senior Drum Major Sadie Ford, the band’s conductor, explains the meaning of the transition from the low brass section’s dark tones in “Ballet Suite No. 4” (representing the oppression of the Soviet Union) to the punk rock of Nena and the Ramones: “it’s…this idea that punk rock saves the world and then after the wall falls, hope and peace is all around.”
To emphasize one of the themes of the show, the word “hope” was emblazoned on a 90 x 45 yard flyover flag, painted and sewn together by English teacher Kelly Boyd. During the show, the flag flew over a graffiti-covered replica of the Berlin Wall while it was toppled over, revealing a peace sign on its underside.
The show also included a “mosh pit” where one of the performers fell from an elevated stage as the rest jumped and yelled around him, requiring “each individual person…to buy into the punk rock character,” according to Senior Field Captain Jacob Long. As field captain, Long oversees rehearsals and leads the field lieutenants, which are in turn responsible for the musicality of their sections. Instead of a uniform as in past years, performers wore punk makeup and jackets individualized with decals and patches over their uniforms, representing unity through individual expression. “This show is really about individuality and…breaking free from oppression,” Ford explains.
Despite its unique aspects, this year was still “more of a conventional season compared to other seasons we had in the past,” according to Percussion Lieutenant, senior Victoria Lord. Woodwind Lieutenant, junior Victoria Yu adds that this year’s performers are more experienced thanks to last year’s more unconventional season.
Because the show was so “ambitious,” initially Long “was worried about getting everything to work, but…it was so much better than I ever thought it could be, and everything went smoothly and it turned out to be a really nice show.” Brass Lieutenant, senior Jeremy Coonley, feels that “all the rookies and all the leadership were extremely committed to the show, and I think that’s what made the season really awesome.”
According to Ford, this season was her “favorite year.” Although she has been section leader in the past, the role of drum major has taught her “how to work better with others.” Ford elaborates, “as drum major, I have to lead the group and also…be the face of the group. So I’ve learned to be more confident in myself…not care about what others think and just…do what I need to do to lead the band effectively.”
Lord also feels that her role as percussion lieutenant, being responsible for both the pit (stationary percussion section) and drumline, strengthened her leadership skills: “having full responsibility over everything…was…very stressful, but it was good and it made me more confident in my leadership abilities.”
Junior Drum Major Alex Viado will take on Ford’s role next season. “It was definitely a lot knowing that next year I’m going to be the one in charge of the band,” says Viado, “but it was a really fun experience, and I feel like I gained a lot of leadership skills by watching Sadie…and stepping up.”
According to Coonley, his four years in the FMC “taught me to be able to commit to something that I really enjoy and just grow as a person from that.” He elaborates, “if you’re surrounded by people…who are also committed to the same activity, then it just pushes you to be better.”
Boyd emphasizes that the FMC is a place for students to be their true selves and “[belong] to a family” that lasts beyond high school, a sentiment shared by many of the performers. “If you’re looking for that sense of community and that feeling of being a part of something bigger than yourself, then you should not hesitate to join,” says Ford. “I think it is a really big commitment, but if you’re able to make the commitment, it’s so fulfilling,” agrees Viado. “You join a huge family that’s together all the time and it was definitely life-changing. Without band, I wouldn’t have felt like I fit in during high school.”
Long elaborates on how being in the FMC creates such strong bonds: “You go through all this hard work together, and in the moment, sometimes it can be a little nervewracking to have to put this much work into something, but at the end…it’s so awesome to be able to see what your hard work is doing.”
To anyone considering joining the FMC, Long advises, “Whatever show idea that the next years have, just buy into it completely and run with it, because once you do that you’ve…opened the doors to success.” Coonley adds that anyone interested should “bring your best attitude and your best commitment and your best effort, and then that’ll make the experience better for everybody.”
According to Boyd, the FMC is “not even close” to recovering from COVID, which caused them to drop from 120 members to 60 members during the 2020 lockdown. Current ninth graders were sixth graders during lockdown, the typical time when students begin band, making them less inclined to take the class in high school. “We’re hoping the numbers should kind of pick up in the upcoming years here, [as] the middle schools recover from COVID as well,” explains Boyd, who expects a seven-year recovery in total.
Regardless of the numbers, Coonley believes that the season was “a great step forward” after COVID. “Considering this season and the rookies that we’ve gotten who are now going to be vets in the next season, I think we’ll have another very committed group of people,” he says. “I’m really excited to see what will happen with those people in the future.”
Next year’s show is currently in the design stages, according to Boyd, and it will be about “a place for everybody to belong.” Boyd says the show will include “live narration” and emphasize the percussion section as well as the “virtuosity” of the performers, many of whom play more than one instrument. “It’s so different each year, you can’t really predict” future shows, Yu explains. “But I will say all the choices [we’ve] made so far have [had] good outcomes, so I think next year is going to be good too.”
