Have you ever seen a marching band on TV and thought, “Wow, that’s cool”?
Well, Oundle is one of very few schools around the country to have the privilege of having our very own CCF marching band. Throughout the two years that I have been in the marching band, we have had the opportunity to play at a wide range of events, from School events such as the Passing Out Parade to performances at the Royal College of Music in London and The Lord Mayor’s Show.
Let’s face it: for non-musicians, the idea of playing musical instruments and spending hours a day slaving away to finally pass a Grade 6 clarinet exam can sound pretty dull and a few years ago, that’s exactly how I felt. At first, when I got an invitation from my drum teacher to join the CCF marching band, I was reluctant but decided to give it a shot. I had never really considered joining any band or orchestra simply because I was scared of messing up.
The Drum Corps, of which I am a part consists of six snares, two tenors, two cymbals and two bass drums. Our routine consists of the Oundle School drum tattoo, which is a rehearsed theatrical routine written by our legendary drum teacher, Mr Wild, who has been with the band for over twenty years. Along with this, we learn a variety of different pieces to play together with the rest of the band.
My first performance with the band was at a biannual event at the Royal College of Music, where the School’s various orchestras, the Chapel Choir, and the CCF Band had the chance to perform on stage at the prestigious Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall. Stepping on stage for the first time, I could barely make out the audience past the blinding bright lights illuminating us as we marched out. My heart pounded as every step seemed louder than the last. The silence before the music began felt endless. A wave of nerves hit all at once — the fear of messing up, the fear of dropping my sticks. I felt as if no preparation could have readied me for that moment.
A few months after the concert, we had the opportunity to play at the 697th occurrence of the Lord Mayor’s Show, which is a historic parade held every year to celebrate the appointment of the new Lord Mayor of London. Dating back over eight-hundred years, it is one of England’s oldest public events. The office of the Lord Mayor was established in 1189, and the City’s charter required that every new Lord Mayor travel to Westminster and take an oath of loyalty to the Crown. Before modern roads and vehicles, the Lord Mayor would travel by barge on the River Thames. This journey by the Lord Mayor is the reason the that the Lord Mayor’s show exists in the first place. Over the years, marching bands, military units and community groups have transformed the journey into a show for the public to enjoy. We marched around the city of London surrounded by professional marching bands, an opportunity that most marching bands could only dream of. I think it is safe to say that I had made the right choice in deciding to step out of my comfort zone and join the band.
