Each year, we receive new music for both our field show and parade march. The field show music is usually based on a specific theme (trains, Queen, etc.) and runs at about 8 minutes. Here is my favorite field show from my freshman year:
The parade march is usually by John Philip Sousa, or other traditional composers, and runs at about 3 minutes. is It consists of about 100 students, and most kids are able to make it into this group by their junior or senior year (with enough practice, of course). It does require a little extra rehearsal time, but it is all worth it. Here is Poway's 2007 Parade March:
One final note: While it may seem daunting at first to have to memorize all of this music, you will have several months to learn it and it will absolutely make you a better musician. Plus, it's all really fun stuff!
#2 Band Camp
Band Camp is a week of marching, playing, learning, and making new friends. It is your chance to meet freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors, all of whom are excited to meet you. You will learn the new field show music as well as the basics of marching.
It begin the week before school starts, and usually lasts for 6 days. Each day will usually have 2-3 blocks of rehearsal, with lunch and dinner breaks in between. A sample day might go from 9-11 AM, then 12-3 PM, and finally 4-6 PM.
Even though band camp may sound like a lot of work, it is your opportunity to see the campus, meet new people, and work on your endurance. Also, everyday is usually a spirit day, where everyone will dress up to a certain theme (Hawaiian, twins, favorite color, etc.)!
#3 Rehearsals
Outside-of-school rehearsals for the marching band take place on Thursday nights (6-9 PM) and Saturdays (ranging from 3-6 hours) on the football field. While it may seem like a lot of time, being with your friends and your section is a lot of fun!
Individual instrument sections may also hold sectionals before rehearsal to eat, work on music and marching, or to do group activities. In addition, there are usually several dress-up nights, such as "morP" night and Halloween.
Finally, on the last Thursday night rehearsal of the season in late November, the Senior class will get to watch the field show from the stands, be treated to a comical "parent field-show," and get recognized individually on the field. This is just one of the benefits of staying in marching band all four years.
#4 Football Games
From September through November, the band plays at the football team's home games on Friday nights (5-8 PM). At the start of the game, the band enter the stadium playing the fight song and marchs around the track before filing into the stands.
Whenever Poway scores a touchdown, the band plays the fight song. But more importantly, the band performs the field show at half-time, gradually adding portions of the show as more of the show is learned. These are essentially dress-rehearsals for the band tournaments.
Following the field show, the band is dismissed and the Pep Band stays in the stands to play various pop tunes for the rest of the game (8-9 PM). (Pep Band is a 6.5 class that counts for 2.5 elective credits and anyone may join.)
On one night, the band may host a middle school night where students from Twin Peaks are invited to join the band in the stands for one game (which you yourself may have already attended!) This is a key opportunity to reach out to future band students.
Finally, if the football team makes it all the way to the CIF Championships, the band will play in the stands at Qualcomm stadium in early December. While this occured in both 2006 and 2007, this event is still very uncertain.
#5 Band Tournaments
Band Tournaments are where we finally get to perform our field show and parade march (only 2 times) for competition against other schools and awards. Our first tournament happens to be our very own Poway Invitational Field Tournament (PIFT) in early October. This is a huge fundraising event which requires hundreds of student and parent volunteers.
Following the PIFT, we will usually attend 3-4 competitive tournaments. In recent years, we have consistently attended the Mt. Carmel Tournament, the Mission Hills MBOS, and finally the Arcadia Tournament, the largest marching tournament in Southern California! This competition list will vary from year to year however.
All tournaments are on Saturdays and usually take up the entire day. Of course the band performs the field show and parade, but the students are have free-time, lunch, and will stay for the awards ceremony. Another important note is that the buses serve as both transportation and uniform changing rooms for the students.
While the Emerald Brigade consistently ranks among the top three competitors in San Diego County, their most prestigious recent awards include:
#6 The Winter Concerts
Immediately following marching season, the band and orchestra begin to prepare for their winter concerts. The orchestra winter concert takes place in the Poway Performing Arts Center on the Wenesday before the winter break. Ususally, they will have a different concert line-up each year including festive selections of music.
The band Winter Concert will take place in the gym on the Thursday before winter break and invites the middle schoolers from Twin Peaks to perform for and meet the high schoolers. Poway will play Russian Christmas Music , a tradition at Poway High, their current field show and parade march, along with two songs to be played with the middle schoolers. Overall it is a huge, fun, cherished concert!
One of the lesser-known concerts is the Titan Times Assembly that takes place during the day on the Friday before winter break. Here, the orchestra, choir, jazz band, and full concert band will perform for the student body in three different assemblies. This is a great day to show off the music program, as well as a day off from school!
#7 Concert Season
Concert Season time is January through early April, where all of the students will prepare music for upcoming band Festivals. By the second semester, band students will be placed among four different bands: Symphonic (Freshmen) Band, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Wind Symphony (requires an audition to get in).
Each ensemble will then get Festival music to learn and work on for a month before performing at Pre-Festival, an exclusive Poway concert put on in the Performing Arts Center in late February. In mid-March, the bands and orchestra will attend the El Camino Festival where the bottom three bands will participate in sight reading in addition to performing.
Our final Festival performance is at our very own school, where we host the PUSD Festival in early April over 2 days. Similar to the PIFT in October, this event requires tons of volunteers, collaboration, and work by students and parents alike. It is an awesome way to get community service hours in and support the music program!
#8 Orchestra, Winter Guard, Percussion, and Jazz Band
The Orchestra class is made up of violin, viola, cello, and string bass players. There are several rehearsals outside of school throughout the year to accomodate the wind and percussion players that join them for performances including: the Winter Concert, Festivals, and the Spring Concert. Sometimes, string players can participate in a small chamber orchestra, or even in the jazz band. More information about the orchestra can be found HERE!
Winter Guard is a spring show that members of Color Guard participate in from late December to mid-April. Every year, their show features choreography that involves dance, flags, rifles, and gymnastics. Unlike marching band, they perform inside gymnasiums and utilize a painted floor that is designed to fit the musical theme of their show (love, baseball, winter, etc.). More information about Winter Guard can be found HERE!
The Percussion Ensemble is 6.5 class that meets from January through April, with a 6-9 PM rehearsal each week. Each year, students put together a percussion show in order to compete against other high schools in the ADLA circuit. Students typically play marimbas, vibraphones, xylophones, bells, chimes, drum set, keyboard, and a variety of other percussion instruments. More information about the Percussion Ensemble can be found HERE!
The Jazz Band is a 6.5 class that runs year-round and meets weekly after school. The most common instruments that participate include: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, guitars, basses, pianists, and percussionists. They have both fall and spring concerts, and also perform at the Titan Times assembly in December. They usually play jazz tunes and features many soloists!
#9 Theme Parks and Trips
Now here is the reward: the theme park trips! Immediately following our final field show in November, the band will bus over and check into a hotel for the night. In the morning we eat an early breakfast and then it's off to a day of fun in Disneyland, Magic Mountain, or Universal Studios! The three parks will rotate from year to year.
Orchestra students can go on trips too! Most recently, Poway's symphony orchestra went to Disneyland in May of 2009! As an added bonus, Disneyland trips include a performance in the park and a peak into the Disneyland backstage! For the orchestra, this means a concert in the park! For the band, this means marching down Main Street in full uniform playing the Fight Song!
Finally, there are major week-long trips that the band will go on every three years or more during the spring break in April! They include a tour around a particular region or country, as well as a performance in the middle of the trip. Most recently, the band went to Italy in 2008 and to Australia in 2005. Despite the cost, there are many fundraisers through the year that students can use to fund their trips with.
Whether students go on these trips or not is completely determined by the students' record of behavior in recent years, as well as by the Music Booster's current budget.
#10 Spring Concerts and Awards Nights
The school year ends with three nights of music in the Poway Performing Arts Center, usually held the week before finals and graduation in June! On Wednesday night, the orchestra students and parents enjoy a catered dinner, followed by the Spring Orchestra Concert! The Symphony Orchestra always play fun music from movies and video games and accompanies one or more Senior Soloists (see below). The night concludes with a slideshow of pictures from the year and an awards ceremony that features fun peer-chosen awards, and important director-chosen awards. Every student is given a certificate in their freshmen and sophomore years, an "orchestra" letter in their Junior year, and a plaque in their Senior year.
On Thursday night, all four of Poway's bands perform in the Spring Band Concert! The Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Wind Ensemble perform first, with music from movies, musicals, and various artists! Then Senior Soloists play with the Wind Symphony. (Any 12th grade student may audition in early April to play a Senior Solo, and those who are good enough will be selected.) The concert will conclude with a performance by the Wind Symphony! On a side note, the band Seniors have a tradition of creating individual poster boards with band, family, and other pictures, to be hung in the lobby of the PCPA for viewing on all three nights.
Finally on Friday night, the band and color guard students have their Awards Ceremony! The night begins with a catered dinner, followed by a slideshow of pictures, primarily from marching season. Then, the awards will begin with the Senior Standouts, a series of fun peer-chosen 12th grade awards. Next, every student is given a certificate in their freshmen and sophomore years, a "band" letter in their Junior year, and a plaque in their Senior year. Then, a multitude of awards is given out to recognize specific performing groups, outstanding marching and concert sections, and special awards given out to Seniors, whose names are placed on "perpetual plaques," that remain at the school. The finale of the night comes when the marching band leadership for the following year is announced.
All Aboard!!!
So, are you ready to join one of the most supportive, fun, and exciting communities on Poway High School's campus? If you are, then make sure to choose "Marching PE," "Tall Flags (color guard)," or "Orchestra" on your Course Request Form, and learn about various summer events such as the 4th of July Parade, Percussion Camp, and Color Guard practices! More information and contacts can be found at www.phsmb.com . As a thank-you gift for reading this entire page, I would now like to present you with this Fight Song Midi that you can use as a ringtone! However, if you are still undecided, then I urge you to view this video that I made for my band Class of 2009! Enjoy and Good Luck!
My name is Joshua and I marched and played clarinet with the Emerald Brigade for four years. During that time, I took thousands of photos and created multiple websites for the Emerald Brigade and so I am proud to present this page as a final testament to all future Poway High musicians. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions for this page that you might have. Thank you for all of your support in the present and in the future.
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