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HARLINGEN – The flags fluttering through the hot morning air bore witness to the excitement of the coming season, and the glistening and playing of the instruments revealed the anticipation of young people returning for a season of joy and activity
“You guys are amazing,” said Maria Coronado, director of the Harlingen High School Cardinal Band.
The young musicians in their casual clothes and their sharp expressions had gathered for another day of summer band camp. For more than two weeks, they had been working on drill and practicing in sectionals such as brass, woodwinds and percussion.
But this morning, they were gathering as a complete band of about 150 kids, all of whom had impressed Drum Major Stephanie Suarez.
“I think everyone is learning pretty quickly,” said Stephanie, 17. “Im pretty proud of the freshmen.”
A few miles away at Harlingen High School South, Head Drum Major Jalen Butts was excited about the Mighty Hawk band.
“Things are going pretty good,” said Jalen, 17, a senior. “We are making a lot of progress.”
Band Director Roy Barajas stood atop his tall tower and called out through a microphone and into a loudspeaker, “We’re going to go opening set to set two. What are we doing?”
“Opening set to set two,” the students answered.
“Point at set two. Here we go.”
And then the metallic metronome began setting pace with its “tink-tink-tink-tink-tink-tink” while the students counted, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.”
And all this time the teachers and drum majors watched, tutored and instructed.
“They are fast learners,” said Jalen. “I am really happy to work with them.”
Back at the Cardinal campus, the metronome cut in even strokes the air with its metallic click while students moved in close specifics through their drill routines.
“Dot-dot-dot,” they chanted as if taking a cue from the clicking metronome.
Coronado stood on her platform and delivered her generous servings of both correction and adulation.
“Yes, Sophia, you got it. She got it! She got it!”
More playing, more moving, more clicks of the metronome and then some correction.
“No, I’m not going to accept more counting. Jesse, what number are you? T-6? Teachers, help Jesse.”
The synthesis here between art and science is most apparent. Anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of music can tell you that music is a sort of mathematical language. Or conversely, that math is the foundation from which music is built.
But here on a warm day, the Harlingen musicians know one thing: they’re excited about the coming year. And they know there is great promise in what they’re doing.
“It’s been good, it’s been really hot,” said Shawn Gonzalez, 16, tenor drum player and section leader at Harlingen High School.
“There’s a lot of growth in the students,” he said.
Band Director Coronado agreed.
“It’s going fantastic,” she said. “The kids are doing amazing. We are done with half of our first part of our show. We’re starting on the second part today.”
The band’s show “El Corazon” is a compilation of several works from different composers, all having to do with love and how it affects the heart.
The greater temperatures of the current August has required everyone to be more vigilant in avoiding heat injuries.
“We’re taking more frequent water breaks and then longer water breaks,” Coronado said. “We let them know that if they are not feeling well, they’ve got to make sure they go to a teacher and let the teacher know.”
There was an area, in fact, set aside for students feeling ill from the heat. Several students filled the area and still played their instruments with great care.
At the Hawk campus, Barajas called for frequent five-minute water breaks, for which the students eagerly broke formation and rushed for bottles of water.
The kids, however, seemed little occupied with heat matters and more focused on the matter at hand, which was the perfection of the drill routines, said Assistant Band Director Alexander Jett.
“Practice is going very well,” Jett said. “The focus is very good. Today we are focusing on shoulder orientation.”
The incoming freshmen have especially captured the notice of teachers, section leaders and drum majors at both high schools. Their passion, enthusiasm and their quick minds have earned the respect of all who have seen them, that along with their ability to absorb all the new information and put it quickly to application. This is a vitality that comes from new talent entering a grand and challenging new stage of experience.
