We would like to make this page, your page. The topic is Fun and Friendship. Tell us about your Band experiences…what you liked, what you didn’t, how your band experience has shaped your life. Did anything funny happen? Send us your pictures….Let the band family know!
“When I was first entering Carmel High School as a freshman. the number one thing that was most often told to me to ensure that I would have a wonderful high school experience was to get involved. Everyone from my GKOM (freshman mentor), to my teachers, to principal John Williams himself, told me the same thing; you have to get involved in some sort of activity. I was very thankful to already know what my high school involvement would be. The Carmel Marching Greyhounds. I was very fortunate to be one of the few kids that had the opportunity to join marching band as an eighth grader, and I have been a proud member of marching band ever since. This group allowed me to feel at home in a school with so many kids, that you begin to feel like a number on a roster, rather than a student. I had found my home, my family away from home, the people I never got tired of seeing (which is shocking, since we spent so much time together). It was not all fun and games though; it was hard work, and taught me how to achieve excellence; not just in band, but in all aspects of life. Marching band taught me to pursue my dreams, and I will be starting to pursue these dreams this upcoming fall when I head off to college.”
-anonymous
“Wherever you go, go with your heart.” This means to me believing in everything you do. Part of believing is dedicating yourself whole-heartedly to the task at hand, never doing something halfway or leaving the job unfinished. For example, that includes giving back to the group that gave me so much, Carmel Bands. My junior year, I had braces and made Jazz 4, a humbling experience. However, this gave me the opportunity to give back by teaching, encouraging, and mentoring the mostly underclassmen group to learn to play jazz at the high school level and feel a successful part of it. After Jazz a la mode, Mr. Saucedo, our Jazz 4 director, surprised me by saying that I had really helped the freshman develop into better players. As Shakespeare said, “Passion is catching.” If you go with your heart, as I did in Jazz 4 that year, you’ll be pleasantly surprised where it leads.
-anonymous
“I learned and gained so much from my experiences in marching band. In breaking out of my shell and taking leadership, I got my first job. The job that I really wanted and I still work at today. If I hadn’t participated in marching band my senior year, there’s no way I would have that job. I’m more outgoing all around, and I’m not afraid to strike up a conversation with someone I don’t know. I gained people skills, and in doing so, figured out what I want to major in college.”
-anonymous
“The marching band program at Carmel High School has always stressed the idea of being a highly productive and efficient individual. Whether we are learning an entire competition show or we’re just going over one individual measure of music, the manner that we go about things is always systematic and orderly. That same concept has transferred into my academic career as well. Working on assignments and projects takes order, time management, and hard work. The Carmel High School marching band is a nationally acclaimed group that not only stresses perfection, but also the idea of impeccable work ethic.”
-anonymous
“As a freshman I was talked into joining marching band, and as I expected, or perhaps because I expected to, I hated it. It was a lot of hard work. To my surprise, right in the middle of band season, I started loving it. I became aware that I was a part of something bigger. We band members became united by common struggles and common goals. Not only did I realize that I needed others to reach these goals, but I also learned that they needed me just as much. So my first lessons learned in marching band were of commitment, teamwork, persistence and confidence. I was depended upon and it was a good feeling that I didn’t want to lose.”
-anonymous
“Another group that has been highly influential in my high school career is the marching band. There is so much to say about this group that I can’t even begin to fit it onto two pages, but there is one thing that every student should take away from such an experience. Marching band is where you learn how to turn a normal group of people into a family….The drill and the music are starting to fade from our minds, but our sense of being together is still as vibrant as the day the season ended.”
-anonymous
“I learned through band, as cliche as it sounds, if you follow your dreams, you will be rewarded. In band, all 200 plus of us followed our dreams, and we were rewarded. It may not have been with a first place at nationals, but it was with making friends that will last a life time. The rehearsals may not have always been fun, but we were rewarded with the satisfaction of performing a show that at first seemed too impossible to complete. We were also rewarded with the skills, and knowledge needed to succeed in life, like the knowledge that shooting for the stars, and going after your dreams will take you far in your life; even if taking the first steps seem a little daunting.”
-anonymous
“I am confident that all of the life lessons learned in band will help me as I follow my dream to be a positive influence in young people’s lives. The role model of the organization of directors, parents, and students striving for excellence will be something that I can draw upon for the rest of my life. I thank all of those involved for the opportunities that their work and dedication afforded to me.”
-anonymous
“I have found that only by coming together can the whole be more than the sum of its individual parts. For example, when the band, guard, and drumline finally come together to perform, after hours of separate preparation, the resulting synergy resonates throughout the stadium, raises the hair on the back of your neck, makes your eyes water, and your heart pump harder.”
-anonymous
“Participating in the marching band has turned me into a well rounded individual and I have gained lots of life lessons. I will never forget my time in the marching band, nor be grateful enough to have worked in one of the best bands in the country. Carmel Marching Band will always be, in my heart, the grand champion out of all the bands; maybe not because we’re the best, but because we’ve achieved excellence. “
-anonymous
“Hendrich Heine once said, “When words leave off, music begins.” The more time I spent in the Carmel Marching Band the more I began to believe that music conveys the emotion that words never could convey. I did not understand the magic and majesty of music before I came to Carmel, but I soon felf in love with the musical expression through marching band.”
-anonymous
“I came to Cannel from a very small private school. At the first meeting in April I had no idea what to expect. Since I had never been to a public school and always wore a uniform to school, I had no idea what to wear. When my Mom dropped me off that day in April. I had three or four extra outfits, and around five or six different pairs of shoes in the car just in case I was not wearing the right type of clothes. When I think about that today I just chuckle. I was so nervous that day and had no idea what to expect. I was intimidated at first by the task at hand, and I thought marching and playing at the same time was impossible.
I came to the marching band program years behind everyone else in music education. My (former) school band teacher did not really teach any of the fundamentals of music or of my instrument. So I spent all four years playing catch-up on my instrument. I was never the best player, but I always tried my best. I had enough enthusiasm of four people and was very dedicated to marching band.”
-anonymous
“I have devoted myself to giving back to the band I love. I have spent the last 2 years doing the best I could to be the best role model I could be for the band…I tried to live up the expectations of others as well as the expectations I had for myself. It was never easy. I put in a tremendous amount of time and I did my very best to form personal connections and friendships with everyone I could.
-anonymous”
“One of the most magnificent ideas is that music conveys what feelings sound like. I have come to believe this ideal with every fiber of my being. Music conveys what words never could. I am dedicating my life to make a difference in the world and plan on helping as many people as I can…”
-anonymous
I would like to thank the directors for giving me the opportunity to join and participate in the best marching band in the country. I have been honored to have had the opportunity to serve the band. Marching band is an experience I will always remember and I will cherish it with all my heart.
-anonymous
