Klarinet Archive - Posting 000171.txt from 1998/03

From: Jack Kissinger <kissingerjn@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Marching Band
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 17:49:18 -0500

Same thing at Allegheny College when I was an undergrad there. We had compulsory
Air Force ROTC for all male freshmen and sophomores. Being a small school, however,
we were a small band (seventeen, including one woman who volunteered -- I think two
snare drums and a bass (me), one clarinet (a guy who had one of Benny Goodman's old
clarinets and who taped all the sharp and flat keys shut so he wouldn't accidently
play one), two trombones, one old decrepit Sousaphone and ten trumpets. Such
balance (no alto clarinets, though!). We used to march close order drill at the
football game halftimes (for the 600 or so fans who came) and we even travelled to
some away games. We were not a crack unit. My clearest memory is of one away game
where we marched out onto the field, formed a circle (OK, an egg) and played a
canned show of excerpts from the movie "Wheels" (from Arthur Hailey's novel). This
was our "formation show." God were we awful. But no shame whatsoever because we
didn't have to drill with everybody else on Friday afternoons.

Thanks for the memories (I think),
Jack Kissinger
St. Louis

Stan Elias wrote:

> When I was an undergrad at Drexel, all the guys -- about 95% of the student body
> -- were drafted into ROTC (pronounced ROT-see). I think the school got a bounty
> for the number of bodies they could stuff into ill-fitting uniforms. On
> Thursdays the campus was a sea of green. Those of us who were musicians,
> however, were the envy of the "corps" because while they were slogging around on
> a cold, muddy football field, we were rehearsing in a nice, warm, dry
> auditorium. Before football season we learned one drill and used it (with minor
> variations) for each game. When the school dropped football, the ROTC band
> became exclusively a concert band. Not the greatest musical experience, but it
> kept me from toting a rifle!
>
> Stan Elias

   
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