Redwood Band sweeps awards
By Cary Ginell soundthink@aol.com

ALL IN THEIR PLACES- Band color guard is ready to march in the competition.

If you've seen a high school halftime show lately, you might have noticed that a lot has changed in marching bands. Today's bands play difficult, dense music, and their marching routines are equally complex, more like robotic ballet.

However, the traditional marching band does still exist, as exemplified by the Redwood Middle School Marching Band, which recently competed in the annual Fillmore May Festival Parade.

The Redwood band, directed by Adam Payne, is one of the crown jewels of Conejo Valley Unified School District's music program. Going into last Saturday's competition, it had won all-around awards the last two years.

At 6:30 on that gloomy, overcast morning, bleary-eyed parents clutching cups of Starbucks delivered their children, dressed in their red, black and white uniforms, to the school. At 7:20 a.m., band members and their instruments were loaded onto three buses for the ride to Fillmore.

STRIKE UP THE BAND- Drum major Jennifer Jiang and the band launch down the street in grand style. Redwood won Best Middle School band for a third year in a row.

Arriving at 8:45 a.m., the students assembled in their assigned band positions, the distances between the ranks measured off by assistant director Mike Freed, using a white pole.

At 9:30 a.m., the "pluming" begins. This involves a museumlike crew of parents donning white gloves to prevent skin oil from getting on the delicate white ostrich feathers that snap into the top of the students' smart white caps, known as shakos.

One student in each rank is named "center guide"; the others align themselves with the center using their eyes only and without turning their heads. The color guard, known as an "auxiliary unit," and drum line practice separately. Shortly before 10 a.m. the band moves into position.

The entire parade route takes up only a few blocks on Central Avenue in the heart of quaint downtown Fillmore. The Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association bases its judging on three factors totaling 1,000 possible points: 500 for music, 300 for showmanship and 200 for marching ability. When totaled, those numbers are multiplied by a factor of .10, giving the final score.

After final instructions from Freed- "Stay in tempo and stand tall!"- the band is ready. The first rank lines up on a yellow strip of tape across the road, ready for a signal from the judges.

Jennifer Jiang is Redwood's drum major, a shy but poised eighth-grader who will turn 14 later this month. Just after 10 a.m., she blows her whistle and the band proceeds down the street, playing "Free World" by K.L. King.

The band looks sharp, the members of the color guard are smiling and twirling their flagsand the crowd cheers as they come down the street. It's an oldfashioned marching band, parading in evenly lined-up ranks and columns that look like an Excel spreadsheet. Sousa would have been proud.

Head parade judge Gary Yearick said the first things the judges look for are the drum majors- how they set the pace and their poise- and the preciseness of the first note of music. Payne and Freed's careful discipline shows, and the band plays "Free World" twice before finishing the route some 10 quick minutes laterWhen they were finished Payne announced, "Raise your hand if you think you did a good job." Almost all the hands go upWhen Jennifer was asked what it was like leading this expert, impressive unit down the street with hundreds cheering, she replied, "Fun!" still basking in the moment.

At the awards ceremony, Redwood swept all their categories, winning Best Middle School band for the third year in a row, with an 85.3 score. Jennifer Jiang won for Best Drum Major and Redwood also won for Best Auxiliary Unit. It was a day of pride for Redwood, and also for this reporter, whose own two sons, Brian and Adam, were marching in the second rank!