Music Of Jethro Tull Is Theme Behind WCHS Marching Band's 2012 Show
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
In 2011, the Warsaw Community High School Percussion Ensemble performed the music of Rush. For the 2012 season, the WCHS Marching Band is performing the music of Jethro Tull. Both rock groups are favorites of band director Mickey Ratliff. “Jethro Tull was one of my favorite bands growing up,” Ratliff said in an interview Tuesday afternoon during band practice. “I was really into the progressive rock and British bands of the ’70s.” He had seen other bands incorporate Jethro Tull’s music into their shows, and he thought it would it would make for a great show. “This is the year we chose to do it,” he said. “I’m the guy who picks the music, so I’m going to be picking the music I like, but it also has to fit the style of the group,” Ratliff said of his choices. Not all music can fit for a marching band or percussion ensemble, he emphasized. The theme of the marching band’s show this year is “Songs from the Wood”, which also is a title of a Jethro Tull song. Opening the show is “Thick as a Brick”, which transitions into “Songs from the Wood”, then “The Whistler”. “The Whistler”, Ratliff said, should be really neat. It has a lot of Irish and Celtic influences in it, so that’s a different style for the WCHS Marching Band and marching bands in general, he said. Their show closure is a return to “Thick as a Brick”. Interspersed with the songs are pieces of the song “Aqualung”. “We don’t really do the song itself,” Ratliff said, it’s just pieces of it here and there. “If you’re listening closely, you’ll catch it. If not, you won’t, but you should still enjoy it.” The Marching Band started its season last week with pre-camp, which were half days from 1 to 5 p.m. This week and three days next week is the full band camp, which goes daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Competition for the marching band begins Sept. 8 with the Goshen High School Invitational. From there, the band competes at the DeKalb High School Invitation Sept. 15; Penn High School Invitational, Sept. 22; and Homestead High School Invitational, Oct. 6. An invitational to be announced also is scheduled for Oct. 20. The Indiana State School Music Association District Contest at Homestead High School is Sept. 29. ISSMA Regional Contest at Lafayette Jefferson, if WCHS qualifies, is Oct. 13, with the ISSMA Semi-State Contest at Ben Davis High School set for Oct. 27. If Warsaw qualifies, the state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is Nov. 3. As for expectations this year, Ratliff said, “We always strive to do our very best. Every year I put it to the kids to do the very best they can every single day and whenever we do something. I tell them to just do their best. The first time we do it they may not be very good, but if they strive to do their best, they will move toward achieving excellence.” Competitively, Ratliff said the marching band strives to make it from district competition to regionals every year, which they do. From regionals, they want to make it to semi-state, which the band has not yet accomplished. “If we strive for our best, eventually we will achieve that goal. If we don’t, we will still have an excellent product and that is the main thing,” Ratliff said.As for the music this year, he said, “I think the kids really like the show this year. That’s not to say they haven’t previously liked the previous years’ shows, they just like the music and playing a rock show.” Senior Patrick Kelly, who plays the mellophone, said, “I really like it. I’m feeling really optimistic about it. The freshmen are learning the music, and the seniors are working hard. I think we will do well this year.” He said he’s heard Jethro Tull before on the radio. “I say, compared to the last couple of shows, (their music) is more challenging in some aspects, but there are some easier parts to it,” Kelly said. “I guess it’s the same as previous shows.” He said as a band, they want to get past regionals and to semi-state. Personally, he wants to get better in marching band so he can do it in college. He said he probably will study music education in college. Freshmen Heather Cox and Lindsey Wolfe play the clarinet and flute respectively. They also agreed on the music this year. “I actually like it a lot,” said Cox. “It’s just jumping and everything and it gets me in the mood. Last year everyone said the music was not that good. This year, I can pick it up pretty easily.” Wolfe said, “I actually really like the music. I thought it would be fun, but it’s also really easy. We play it so often we don’t have to practice on our own so much as it is easy to pick up on.” Normally, she said, she likes alternative bands like Falling In Reverse and Escape The Fate. Jethro Tull is “different” from those bands, she said, but she still really likes it. “The melody flows really well and it is catchy,” she said. Ninety high school students make up the marching band this year, with a majority being freshmen and sophomores. Ratliff said it’s always a challenge having such a large portion of the band be less experienced with their instruments and with marching, but that’s been their experience for the last few years. Performing with the marching band at events like home football games is the color guard. They will perform at home football games Aug. 24, Sept. 7, Sept. 21 and Oct. 12. Of the show theme and music this year, color guard senior Raven Loubert said, “I haven’t really heard their music, but my dad and I looked it up online and we liked it, so we think it’s pretty cool.” She said the color guard this year is a lot more experience because the team only has one freshman new to the color guard and one new sophomore. The rest are returnees. As for her goals for the color guard, she said, “My expectations for this year are I’m hoping we get to semi-state and I guess to have a great show this year.”
