Klarinet Archive - Posting 000014.txt from 1998/10

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Marching band
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 12:24:38 -0400

On Wed, 30 Sep 1998, Paulette W. Gulakowski wrote:

> Oh Roger! When I was in college, women were NOT permitted to be in the
> marching band. I was a clarinet major and a band geek, but mourn the
> fact that I never got to march college. My high school marched grades
> 7-12 so I did 6 years there. I was laughed at and ridiculed during
> college for my love of marching band and there wasn't a single course
> that I could take where I could learn marching techniques - it was only
> avaliable to marching band members. Thank goodness that has changed. I
> will not, however, exchange my marching for concert ensemble for soloing
> etc serious music. I WANT IT ALL.
> Are you "serious musicians" still sniggering at me after all these years?
> Tongue in cheek - I got over that about 7 years ago.

Read my first three posts......then your last question regarding "serious
musicians" will be answered.

I still have my four years of marching band at Michigan in large frames on
my office walls - two of those years as first chair clarinet (yay) - great
years and a terrific time......I wouldn't excahange them for much of
anything either - EXCEPT orchestra and the the Symphony Band at U of M
were much more satisfying. If I HAD to make a choice, it would have been
the latter.....but I didn't have to make that choice - both were available
to me. I know about the marching issue for men only.....used to happen at
U of M too - when Revelli retired, George Cavender added women - the band
is, in my opinion, better than ever. I have already written that
marching is a good part of the program - just not the most important part.

Roger GArrett
IWU

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