The Blue Jay Marching Band is dubbed “The Best Band in the Land,” but the instruments they use are hardly the best, says Band Director Tom Miller
In the last decade, the band has won two dozen grand championships despite the aging instruments they tote across the football field, Miller says.
The marching sousaphones are easily 20 years old, says Tom Miller, who has been Band Director for the past decade.
“The talent has not stopped,” he says, but “what they (the School Board) don’t realize is we’re spending the majority of our money on repair. If they bought us new instruments, we could use the budget on new music or innovative things.”
Most of the band’s 93 members, 75 of whom are musicians, borrow instruments from the school, Miller said. “I’d say there are about 50 instruments that are school-owned, that are always breaking down. Every week something’s breaking,” he said.
So Miller often finds himself fixing instruments with duct tape and rubber bands.
Money matters
Even with dinged up horns and drums, the band students receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships each year for their musical prowess.
“To date, as of the Livingstone College offers, we (the band) have over $1.4 million worth in college scholarship offers for the past 10 year,” Miller said. “The talent is here,” he repeats.
As of press time, the band’s 26 seniors have grossed more than $160,000 in scholarship money this year, says Miller. And there’s more to come, Miller promises, as other college representatives audition band members for potential scholarships.
Darrius Green, percussion section leader and a member of the Varsity Basketball team, was offered a total of $19,000 from Livingstone College, in North Carolina, and Musician’s Institute, in California. He says he credits his success in music to the band.
“I probably wouldn’t be going to college if it wasn’t for the band,” he says.
Fellow percussionist and Captain of Discipline Alexander Brown was offered $8,000 from both Jackson State University, in Mississippi and Livingstone.
Tuba player Adrian Albert received an $8,000 offer from Livingstone College, and tuba section leader Ian Brown has been offered $6,000 from Livingstone, and a scholarship worth $8,000 from Jackson State University.
And then there’s Band Captain Jeremy Booker, who is sitting pretty with $14,000 in scholarship monies from Livingstone as well.
All three of the young men say that their participation in the band has made them better players. However, they say that they had to help themselves, too, by practicing.
“It’s 50/50,” says Ian Brown.
Booker says, “I feel I’ve enabled myself through my hard work and dedication to my craft.”
Horn of plenty
It’s the trumpets, however, that have the most bank. Senior David Harrison received a full ride to Livingstone, a scholarship worth $22,050 per year if he takes it.
Former trumpet and current Head Drum Major Vearra Campbell was offered a $16,000 scholarship to Livingstone, and a full-ride scholarship to Kentucky State University worth $26,440 per year.
Six of the seven seniors interviewed borrow instruments from the school.
“This is my 39th year (of teaching),” Miller said. “When I hand in my keys, I’ll know that I’ve helped a lot of kids get through college, and that’s what it’s all about – taking people to the next level. That’s my main goal,” says Miller.
“That horn is paying for their college,” says Miller, “and it’s more important that the kids get a college education than any trophy in this room. I could give all these trophies up, but if you go to college for free on your instrument, that’s what it’s all about.”
Memories
Besides the money, being in the marching band has been an enriching experience for many of the students, they say.
Band’s a positive place for kids who want to take part in something bigger than themselves, says Assistant Band Director David Miller. He says the band teaches “cooperation, leadership, and keeps kids from where they’re not supposed to be.”
Campbell says that’s true in her case: “I don’t have free time to make bad decisions,” she says.
The seniors mentioned aspects about the band that they will miss after graduation. “Homecoming, being with the band, the drumline (nicknamed Cold Blue), the girls,” says Green with a sly smile.
Alexander Brown says, “Cold Blue is like a family.”
Despite the fiscal setbacks the band battles, their music perseveres, and the trophies in the band room represent that.
Speaking on it all, perhaps Harrison says it best. “This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”