Band director Christopher Schletter conducts the band in one of their after school practices. The Sound of Pride is working hard to prepare for their upcoming state competition. Photo Credit: BROCK LANDERS
BY JEREMY HAAS
As soon as school lets out on a recent Thursday afternoon, Cooper City High begins buzzing with activity. The Sound of Pride marching band struts out to the football field with instruments in hand and attentive eyes to an audience of one: the drum major. Like soldiers, the members stand tall and in unison with each other, even with tired eyes, cramped limbs and sweat drenched bodies. As they start to play, sounds of the percussion section build up to the volume of the loud, melodious horns. On closer inspection, you can see they aren’t just marching, but dancing, the unique choreography fitting perfectly with the music. This goes on for the next few hours as The Sound of Pride works hard to play the music they love and live up to their musical potential.
The Sound of Pride puts in the time and effort to ensure a successful competition season. Throughout the beginning of the year, the band competed against other marching bands across the county in order to make it to The Florida Marching Band Championship (FMBC), the state competition. To make it to FMBC, a school must rank in the top five in the county. This has never been a problem for CCHS, they have attended the state competition for years. Most bands compete with a show that strictly follows a theme, for instance, a movie like Tron. This year, The Sound of Pride is doing something a little different than in the past by playing a show without any real underlying message. This performance, called “The Colors of Pat Metheny,” acts as a tribute to the 1980’s jazz guitarist. The band’s show is about music this year and they intend to play for their love of music rather than solely tailoring their performance to try to win the competition.
“I want everyone to get through the season and be able to say that they performed to the best of their abilities,” piccolo captain senior Peri Chajet said.
Last year, the marching band placed fourth in the state. A respectable honor, but a disappointment compared to their last time competing at FMBC in 2009, when they won first overall. This year, The Sound of Pride came up with the idea of veering away from a themed show to focus on the band’s true abilities rather than an interesting message. Being first in the state doesn’t mean much to The Sound of Pride unless they are playing something they are passionate about. The show is about playing good music, which is exactly what the band does.
“We use competition as a vehicle to better ourselves,” band director Christopher Schletter said. “It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about whether or not we are getting better.”
This year, the band is taking a risk by focusing on music that is completely new to them: jazz. They are competing with a show inspired by 1980’s jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny. The band’s performance consists of three of Metheny’s songs, “Third Wind,” “Letter from Home,” and “First Circle.”
The Sound of Pride has been preparing their jazzy masterpiece since the beginning of summer. They’ve had weeks of 10 hour long weekend practices, a class period to work on the material during school hours and after-school practices two days a week from 5:00 to 8:30. At the practices, the students warm up, march, play their instruments and move in perfect harmony. All the practice time is necessary for the band to succeed in performing the “The Colors of Pat Metheny,” a beautiful piece with challenging choreography. Tying elegant ballet movements into the marching, the band is often seen pointing their toes and raising their instruments over their heads as they glide across the field. The band is truly pushing their limits this year, and it can be seen in their performance.
“This is the hardest music I’ve ever seen us play,” drum major senior Sarah Sukkar said.
The future of The Sound of Pride is looking promising, as well. Even though many of the seniors – whose strong bond seems to keep the band together – will be leaving, there’s no doubt that the rest of the members are all extremely devoted to the music they play and the art they make. With the seniors departure comes new opportunities for returning students. This year showed how positive change can be.
“We like to call it the progressive era,” Chajet said.
At the end of practice, there’s a sense of accomplishment in the air. The exhausted soldiers give everything they have in a final run-through, still moving and playing with intense passion. The song eventually ends leaving everybody in awe of the masterpiece they have devoted their last few months to. If their goal is to get better and have their love of music shine through, they have already accomplished it.
