The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance here at Michigan is renown for their fantastic faculty and wonderful performing ensembles. Band-O-Rama, an annual showcase of the School’s wind ensembles gave us a mouthful of praise for these ensembles.
The night started off with the University Concert Band, led by Courtney Snyder, as they played a Sousa-esque march in ‘Michigan on Parade,’ ‘Blues for a Killed Kat,’ and Mackey’s Redline Tango.’ The University Symphony Band soon took over. Under the direction of longtime Director of Bands, Michael Haithcock, The Symphony Band played a few excerpts from works such as Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Snow Maiden,’ and Puccini’s ‘LeVilli.’ To finish it off, they played a rousing rendition of the great ‘Victor’s Valiant.’
Intermission
The crowd came to a hush as the drumline entered the stage. They were standing in their traditional set when the lead snare started giving taps, signaling that the band was about to enter.
Soon after, around 300 disciplined Michigan Marching band men and women rushed onto the stage from the aisles, in a style in which their thighs were parallel with the ground (this style is usually referred to as ‘entries’). The aerobic exercise these people were getting could be deduced from the visible sweat pouring from their faces. It was impressive to say the least. A seemingly grueling two and a half minutes went by, as all of the members made their way onstage. After everyone was in their calculated spot, director John Pasquale gave a large motion downbeat, signaling the band to play the M Fanfare. Audience members that were aware of the tradition associated with the playing of the M Fanfare raised their right fist in a reverent salute, while the unaware soon followed suit. The culmination of the last fermata led right into a playing of The Victors, thus fully grabbing and engaging the audience for the rest of the night. Over the course of the MMB’s performance, they played songs from their recent halftime shows, such as Kesha’s ‘Timber,’ Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory,’ swing tunes such as Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman,” Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ (yes, that one!), and the traditional ‘Little Brown Jug.’ A real treat, as always, was when the Drumline came center stage to play their cadences and specific repertoire. In addition to giving the brass a break for their embouchure’s sake, the Drumline cranked out highly impressive performances of their parade cadence and step show, showcasing their high level of talent and expertise to an eager audience. The event then closed off with the standard combination of ‘Temptation’ and ‘Hawaiian War Chant,’ “because you can’t have one without the other,” and a beautiful rendition of the Alma Mater followed by ‘The Victors.’
