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TBDBITL Report: Beethoven in Blacksburg
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Marching Virginians
Road games are always a fun experience for The Ohio State Marching Band as members get to visit a new stadium, meet members of another band, perform in front of a crowd that may have never seen them before, and of course watch and cheer on the Buckeyes. These trips always come with challenges due to the realities of traveling as well as dealing with an unfamiliar stadium, having to coordinate with another band and athletic department, and unfortunately occasionally having to deal with opposing fans who aren’t very welcoming (most opposing fans are great but there are occasional exceptions). The band always meets these challenges, overcomes them, and puts on a performance that shows why they are The Pride of the Buckeyes and Monday’s game at Virginia Tech was no exception.
The Highty-Tighties.
Fans at Monday’s game were treated to not one, not two, but three marching bands as Virginia Tech has two groups of their own that performed in addition to TBDBITL. The Virginia Tech Marching Band is known as the Marching Virginians and is composed of 304 brass, woodwinds and percussion players as well as 36 members of the flag corps and one to three featured twirlers. The other band at Virginia Tech is the Regimental Band, also known as The Highty-Tighties, which was formed in 1893 as a part of the university’s cadet regiment. OSU fans will likely find the Highty-Tighties’ uniforms familiar as they have a lot of similarities to TBDBITL’s uniforms, namely the crossbelts and the hat. The uniform similarity isn’t surprising since both groups had military origins and thus use uniforms that are modeled off of those worn by cadets at West Point.
Having to split a halftime show between home and away bands means a shorter show than normal. TBDBITL opened their show with a selection from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which featured a drill that included rotating lines and diamonds which while not hard to march, require a lot of precision in order to look good. The drill for the familiar “Ode to Joy” section included a flower-like shape with rotating lines and a company front, both of which drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd. The crowd’s enthusiasm only grew as the OSUMB launched into its signature Script Ohio. The Virginia Tech fans clearly enjoyed the chance to see the greatest tradition in college sports and can be heard clapping along.
The enthusiastic response from the Virginia Tech fans speaks highly of both TBDBITL’s performance and the classiness of the Hokies.
The OSUMB, like the football team, has a short week to prepare for Saturday’s home opener. The first home game of the year is always special for the band members, especially for the first year members; I still remember the amazing feeling of coming down that ramp for the first time and seeing and hearing the crowd clapping along to the ramp cadences. The feeling of marching in Ohio Stadium stays with a person for the rest of their life and that feeling is the reason that every year hundreds of marching band alumni come back to perform ‘just one more time’. This year’s alumni game is this weekend and over 600 marching band alumni will be joining TBDBITL on the field for a performance that should thrill everyone in attendance.
The post TBDBITL Report: Beethoven in Blacksburg appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Marching Virginians
Road games are always a fun experience for The Ohio State Marching Band as members get to visit a new stadium, meet members of another band, perform in front of a crowd that may have never seen them before, and of course watch and cheer on the Buckeyes. These trips always come with challenges due to the realities of traveling as well as dealing with an unfamiliar stadium, having to coordinate with another band and athletic department, and unfortunately occasionally having to deal with opposing fans who aren’t very welcoming (most opposing fans are great but there are occasional exceptions). The band always meets these challenges, overcomes them, and puts on a performance that shows why they are The Pride of the Buckeyes and Monday’s game at Virginia Tech was no exception.
The Highty-Tighties.
Fans at Monday’s game were treated to not one, not two, but three marching bands as Virginia Tech has two groups of their own that performed in addition to TBDBITL. The Virginia Tech Marching Band is known as the Marching Virginians and is composed of 304 brass, woodwinds and percussion players as well as 36 members of the flag corps and one to three featured twirlers. The other band at Virginia Tech is the Regimental Band, also known as The Highty-Tighties, which was formed in 1893 as a part of the university’s cadet regiment. OSU fans will likely find the Highty-Tighties’ uniforms familiar as they have a lot of similarities to TBDBITL’s uniforms, namely the crossbelts and the hat. The uniform similarity isn’t surprising since both groups had military origins and thus use uniforms that are modeled off of those worn by cadets at West Point.
Having to split a halftime show between home and away bands means a shorter show than normal. TBDBITL opened their show with a selection from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which featured a drill that included rotating lines and diamonds which while not hard to march, require a lot of precision in order to look good. The drill for the familiar “Ode to Joy” section included a flower-like shape with rotating lines and a company front, both of which drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd. The crowd’s enthusiasm only grew as the OSUMB launched into its signature Script Ohio. The Virginia Tech fans clearly enjoyed the chance to see the greatest tradition in college sports and can be heard clapping along.
The enthusiastic response from the Virginia Tech fans speaks highly of both TBDBITL’s performance and the classiness of the Hokies.
The OSUMB, like the football team, has a short week to prepare for Saturday’s home opener. The first home game of the year is always special for the band members, especially for the first year members; I still remember the amazing feeling of coming down that ramp for the first time and seeing and hearing the crowd clapping along to the ramp cadences. The feeling of marching in Ohio Stadium stays with a person for the rest of their life and that feeling is the reason that every year hundreds of marching band alumni come back to perform ‘just one more time’. This year’s alumni game is this weekend and over 600 marching band alumni will be joining TBDBITL on the field for a performance that should thrill everyone in attendance.
The post TBDBITL Report: Beethoven in Blacksburg appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...