By LARRY GAGE
Special to the PRESS
For weeks members of the Port Isabel High Silver Tarpon Marching Band have been hard at work. They’ve been doing sectional work indoors and marching fundamentals outdoors. All of the music for this year’s marching show is now in and all hands and feet are now busy combining marching steps with musical notes.
“I’ll be out there now that they’re getting the footwork going,” head Silver Tarpon band director Scott Hartsfield said Monday. “We’ll start learning the drill today.”
Hartsfield again credited his staff of assistant directors for all the work they do in the very large job of putting this show together. “It helps too (that we have) stability within the staff,” Hartsfield said. “Most of the staff has been here eight years or more. They know the system and the kids know them from sixth grade on up. The rapport is really good.”
“The staff has been successful with the system that we have in place, and it’s to the point now where I can rely on and trust in my staff to maintain and keep the system going. That makes it easier on my mind.”
One of the newest members of Silver Tarpon Band directing staff is Felix Hernandez, who is starting his second year with Hartsfield. “I can thank Mr. Hernandez for taking care of all the (marching) fundamentals and getting them rolling out there in the morning. He’s the one in charge of the outside footwork stuff that you see in the morning.”
The daily schedule changes from week to week and directors and band members are all hard at work getting the new show, or part of it, ready for the first football halftime performance of the season. The season and home opening game with Rio Grande City Grulla will take place at Tarpon Stadium on Friday, August 28.
“We’re going to have about 15 sets on the field, 15 pictures,” Hartsfield said this week. “That’s our goal.” Fifteen sets, or field formations, represents about a fourth of the entire show.
Every year the band puts on a show that is new and original, one written especially for the Silver Tarpon Band. This year’s show, Hartsfield assured your high school instrumental music reporter, really is something different.
“Our show is called ‘Outside the Box.’ It’s a different show this year – outside of the norm for marching band. We’re looking at having the kids in different-color outfits. We’re just trying to do things a little differently.”
Hartsfield explained the long process of getting the music into its final form. “We do a lot of editing till we get what we want and that’s the music the kids get. It’s cut and paste.”
The band starts the day working on marching fundamentals in the parking lot, which is marked off with numbered yard lines just like a football field. “Then they’ll come inside and do full band and work the show music. They get an hour for lunch. They come back and I’ll keep them together again for about an hour-and-a-half. Then they go outside (for more) marching drill.”
Frequent water breaks are taken. “We have Gatorade out there for them. They’re getting hydrated like they need to be.”
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