Students wowed judges and other audiance members with a performance based on the works and life of Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Cherokee High School Marching Band is playing an especially happy tune these days as it recently won the 2016 USBands Group IVA New Jersey State Championship. The championship marks the band’s only first-place win in the last decade.
According to Director D. Michael Lynch, students are more than excited about their accomplishment.
“It’s a long season and they work really hard, so to be rewarded at the end of the season in that way, it means a lot to them,’’ Lynch said.
Although the band reached second place several times in past years, Lynch said the first-place win wouldn’t change his and students’ perspective for how they approach competitions and shows.
“We live in the moment between the start and end of the show, and I always tell them not to rest their hats on whether it’s a first-place win,” Lynch said.
Lynch described Cherokee’s winning performance as focusing on the life and works of famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
This year, the show included the “Egmont Overture,” parts of Beethoven’s “Symphony №5,” “Moonlight Sonata” and the portion of Beethoven’s “Symphony №9” most commonly known as “Ode to Joy.”
Lynch said the show was designed to present pieces the audience would be familiar with and would easily understand.
“It was relatable by everyone that was listening, whether it was a family member, judge or other musicians,” Lynch said.
As those who follow the marching band scene would know, now more than ever competitions are about more than just music, with judges grading for color guard, percussion, ensemble performance and even individual performances.
According to Lynch, choosing the works of Beethoven also allowed the band to be creative and center on the dissonance between Beethoven’s world-famous compositions and his loss of hearing.
Lynch said during the performance, the band would often gesture toward their ears and head, as if there was a bit of dizziness, and the songs would also include several moments of silence.
“There was planned silences where we got the audience to hopefully experience the feeling Beethoven must have felt where he could hear the music in his head but not his ears,” Lynch said.
As with previous years, Lynch described Cherokee’s season as beginning in May and June. Those summer practices and camps flowed into the start of the school year in September, during which time Lynch said students practice several nights a week for several hours, along with their normal performances at sports games and other events.
“There’s no defense in band or music,” Lynch said. “Your only defense is your best offense, so you have to be at your best all of the time.”
Lynch thanks his students for all the hard work, as well as their parents and school administrators this season. Lynch said even at the start of the season, it seemed as if the comradery between those groups was going to be unique.
“Everything really seemed to click,” Lynch said.
