Marching Marvels

I write this shortly after the 2025 Little Britches Parade, where 90 musicians from Notre Dame Collegiate just finished marching non-stop for the whole parade, then still had a high octane performance for Battle of the Bands in George Lane Park.

What people who see the few short minutes as we walk by may not realize is the hard work that goes into making all that happen.  And to be honest, the students oftentimes don't realize it either, until they are back home nursing their aching muscles.

That's because marching band, while certainly it's about the music, it's also very very physical.  It requires a completely different commitment, a completely different strength, and a completely different level of resilience than any other type of music they will ever participate in.  And music already asks us to be technically proficient, creative, collaborative, and spirit-moving.

And this year was a big challenge; we had to get marching band ready, memorized, practiced, lined up and performance ready in just under 4 weeks.  Any band teacher would be proud of what they accomplished if they had taken 8 weeks or longer to do it.  But they did it in 4.

Marching Band shows you the character of the people in it.  They are strong, they are determined, they are powerful, they are resilient.  They push themselves, they persevere, they ask for help when it's needed, and they give help when they can.  They build themselves up, they build each other up, and they build the community up.

Every person in the world goes through difficult moments.  When these young musicians have those difficult moments in their future, they can look back to their perseverence and tenacity in marching band.  They can say "I did that", and it will help them with their resolve when they need to remember how strong they truly are.

As an aside, we are not the only artists at Notre Dame Collegiate pushing ourselves for our art.  Mr. Hamilton and our theatrical artists are mounting a very ambitious production titled "The Play That Goes Wrong" this coming Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  As is the norm for actors and crew, they push themselves in their final week before their production, working until 9:00 PM each night to get the show just right.  And they always put on a fantastic production.  Everyone is invited to come see any or all of their 3 shows, with admission by donation.  Let's support all the Arts at Notre Dame Collegiate!

Some final notes: Parents, thank you for supporting your students in this challenging character-forming endeavour.  Students, thank you for putting your best foot forward and sharing with the rest of the community what I already knew - that you are amazing, and High River should be proud of you (and as you heard this weekend, they absolutely are!)  And all of you, enjoy a restful long weekend!