SOUND AND SPECTACLE

"The Enduring Tradition of Maple River Marching Band."

Having engaged in a five-minute duel with random strangers for a small eight-foot plot of grass along some random street in a random town, you must now endure nine levels of torment and torture that would’ve made Dante rewrite The Inferno. Drunken morons, defecating horses, showers of stinging sucrose, and weather conditions fit only for the propagation of mosquitoes make minutes turn to hours. Did I mention you’re supervising children? Oh yes, the tradition of parades hearkens back to the days of Charles Darwin who designed the Galapagos Island Tortoise Days to be the ultimate “Survival of the Fittest” exercise for your sanity and the welfare of children who have no comprehension or memory of the Shriner Mini Car Debacle of 1983. 

Ah, Parades!

Who doesn’t love a parade?

All sarcastic joking aside, parades do capture the magic of summer, and when the drum line snaps out the familiar cadence of your school song, the sound and spectacle of marching band takes hold of your soul and takes you from the Inferno to Paradiso in the span of three minutes. 

Getting them ready

The task of keeping the 2024 marching band in step with decades of marching tradition falls to Josh Tonkin, Maple River band teacher. While most of Tonkin’s peers flee the building in early June for some much deserved R&R, he doubles down for one of the most challenging weeks of the year: SPAT CAMP. “During the first full week of summer break,” Tonkin explains, “our marching band meets for four hours a day for five days.  During that time, the students learn the music for the summer and the entire street routine.  Also during that time, our students get fitted for their uniform, students leave for various athletic camps and we have to have pictures.  It seems like we have 20 hours to learn everything, but in reality, it is much less.  It is an intense week, but it is always rewarding to see the process play out.” Tonkin has been leading Maple River’s marching band since the summer of 2021, and before that, he spent two summers working with St. Peter’s marching band program. While most students check out in the month of May, band students are ramping up for an experience that is both music and also an athletic test of endurance. “Our first objective during Spat Camp is to learn our music,” Tonkin notes.  “We will spend most of the first day working on music so when we start working on drill, the music is already learned.  The rest of the first day is typically devoted to marching fundamentals.  The next three days are spent learning the drill, and we spend a bulk of our rehearsal time outdoors.  Our last day of rehearsal is picture day and our dress rehearsal.  By Friday, all the music and the entire show is learned, and we spend the rehearsal time doing full run-throughs.”

(Caption: Although not an instrumental group, the flags are an integral part of each performance)

Unlike a concert band or pep band, a marching band is made up of several teams. First, there is the music. This year’s musical selection is “El Bandido” by Mike Story, which Tonkin chose because it reminded him of the exciting story of the Spanish bandit Zorro. Each instrument group had a section leader that patrols not only the music but also the marching of the people in each line. Overseeing everybody are the student-led drum majors, who take the whistle and control of the band from Mr. Tonkin so he can supervise and observe the entire team. Of course, Tonkin isn’t the only adult helping things come together. “We are very blessed to have support from our district in allowing us to hire additional marching band staff.  Michelle Roche has worked with me since my first year leading our percussion section, and Elyse Steffen has worked with our color guard section for the last two summers.  In addition to our hired staff members, we have numerous volunteers that help fit students into uniforms throughout the week.” 

Depending on the year, the marching band is quickly thrown into the fires of performance, usually at the fan-friendly Town and Country Days in Mapleton in early June. “My favorite part of marching band is seeing the entire process come together,” Tonkin added. “We start from nothing, and in less than 20 hours, the students have learned the song for the summer and an entire street routine.  I get to flex other extra-musical muscles while creating the drill, and seeing it come to fruition is incredibly rewarding.”

Not only is marching while playing an instrument complicated, the marching band season can also be grueling. While they don’t play each and every weekend, they’ll march in parades all summer and normally finish around homecoming. While some parades are favorites of student and director alike (like Madelia or FestAg) others test stamina because of both length and weather. “Weather is always a challenge,” Tonkin admitted. “We have new uniforms that are significantly cooler (both appearance and temperature), and these have made handling the heat a lot easier.  In addition to our uniforms, we have t-shirts designed for every summer, and these become our secondary uniform tops.  If we find ourselves at an exceptionally hot parade, we will march without our jackets and will still look uniform because everyone is wearing their t-shirts. “We’ve been rather lucky in regards to rain, and I’ve only had one parade where we had to worry about it, and unfortunately, it started after we had already started marching.  Rain provides a unique challenge because we not only have to worry about the uniforms getting wet or muddy, instruments become a concern as well.  If we find ourselves in heavy rain, we will likely not march.  In the event that the rain starts after we’ve started, we need to make sure that instruments are not damaged, and we will have to stop to put them away.”

A Family Tradition

Due to the complexity of a marching band, and the challenges of a season, marching band often involves an entire family. For the Proehl family, the entire family has participated in one way or another. Back in the mid 90s, “Ricky” Proehl marched many of the same streets for Director Rebecca Carpenter. He played sousaphone (that big twisty tuba) alongside Chris Mark and Eric Barr and recalled his biggest worry about marching: “Horse droppings.” Now that he is grown up, he goes by Rick and has involved his wife and children in the program. “Today, Gena and I volunteer to drive the truck and trailer on long trips.  This involves loading and unloading suitcases and snacks, driving through congested cities, navigating through unfamiliar parking lots, and occasionally replacing a trailer tire or walking for gas.  We have a lot of great memories traveling with the Buckholtz’s and Caven’s.” For his wife Gena, marching band is a new experience. “Growing up I was not involved in marching band.  Now as a parent I have chaperoned every band trip our kids have gone on and we help drive the truck and trailer locally.” As a mother, she certainly enjoys getting to see the spectacle and performance of other bands, but she admitted her true concern: “I worry about the students getting overheated on the super hot days.” Recent graduate Leah Proehl understands why a mother would worry. “People don’t understand that marching band is practically a sport with the amount of strength and stamina it requires, especially on the hot days.” Eldest son Matthew and his two brothers also followed in their father’s footsteps by also choosing the sousaphone. Looking back on his experience, Matthew remembers the fun of getting to hang out with his friends and playing music. “It might be a lot of work but is very rewarding.”

(Caption: Tending to the needs of the performers before and after parades falls on a dedicated group of parents)

For Laney Covey, she is creating a new tradition with her family. “I was never involved

in marching band until my oldest joined at the end of his 6th grade year,” and now, “I help do a little of everything, assist with spat camp and getting uniforms fitted and the trailer ready to go for the season. During the season I help by washing the water bottles after parades and washing the polos that the water carriers wear during parades, and any of the other odds and ends that the kids or Mr Tonkin may need. I was also lucky enough to chaperone the band/choir trip to Orlando in April.” During parades, her role is to keep the band hydrated, which requires her to walk the same parade route while carrying water bottles. Not having been a band kid, she is also witness to some of its unexpected joys. “One of the biggest highlights for me this year during spat camp was the dress up theme days and how creative the sections got on short notice with their costumes.” 

(Caption: Lucas Proehl ensures the drum line keeps the beat steady as the band moves through the parade route.)

FRONT AND CENTER

Another tradition held in marching band is selecting a drum major(s). Tonkin explained the process. “Students interested in being a drum major are required to complete an application and audition in front of the band.  Having the ability to work with these students every day, I also bring that knowledge to the decision making process.  I am looking for students who are committed to our program and who have demonstrated leadership in some capacity.  Drum majors are the leaders of our marching band, and it’s important to have the right people in those positions.” This year, senior Wyatt Birr was selected along with the youngest Proehl, Lucas, who will now have to trade in his sousaphone for something much lighter: a whistle. Both drum majors learned under the example of 2024 graduate Jackson Walters, who explained his perspective of being a drum major: “To me, being drum major doesn't mean that you are any more important than the other band kids. You are just the leader and someone that they will be looking up to all the time.” Walters added, “Being drum major means that you are second in charge under Mr. Tonkin. You are mostly in charge of the band students and deal with the “dumb” questions so that Mr. Tonkin doesn't. You also have to be a role model and be ready to give your input to Mr. Tonkin because he does ask for it quite often.”

(Caption: Wyatt Birr signals for the band to stop for a performance).

For Proehl and Birr, their seasons are just beginning. In becoming a drum major, junior Lucas Proehl added a new twist to the family tradition. He explains his new role and duties: “As a drum major, you have to make sure everyone is in their spots and marked off correctly when the parade starts. You conduct the band and also help them keep in step. Senior Wyatt Birr explained the change in being a player to a leader: “Being the leader of the band is different from being a member as you’re the main focus of attention during rehearsals and performances. You have to not only hold others accountable but hold yourself accountable in order to make the band successful. Leading by example is the biggest responsibility.” 

Armed with two drum majors, Mr. Tonkin can then focus on the small details that make a marching band stand out in a crowd. “marching band requires a significant amount of hard work.  Especially because of our time restraints, students need to be willing to put in the hard work to make sure we are successful.  One of the biggest challenges in our marching band is the drill itself; we are essentially marching a field show on the street.  Students need to be able to remember a substantial amount of information while carrying and playing their instruments.

“Additionally, marching band requires significant discipline.  We teach our students a very specific style of marching and are very particular about what their feet are doing while they march.  Once a student has been called to “attention,” they are not allowed to move for any reason.  This means they are holding their instruments and not moving for extended periods of time, even if a fly lands on your nose.  It’s not easy to make yourself not move at attention or to march with a perfect roll-step or to make sure that your step sizes are exactly 22 ½ inches, and these things all require significant discipline.” 

The discipline learned by fledgling floutists or rookie drum majors not only creates lasting memories for the members of the marching band, but can also enrich any of the communities still embracing the heritage of parades, something Tonkin understands in his preparation. “To me, the music is the most important aspect of marching band, but the routine is a very close second.  Some errors in marching can be covered by good music and some errors in the music can be covered by good marching.  Ultimately, I understand that most people are probably not watching the entire performance, so it’s important to me that our music is able to showcase the quality of our band.”

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