Posted on September 6, 2007
The crowd will be cheering and purple and gold will fill the stands of Bridgeforth Stadium Saturday afternoon. It may be a JMU home football game, but the players won’t be the only ones taking the field.
JMU’s famed marching band, the Marching Royal Dukes, will perform at home for the first time this year during JMU’s football game against the University of New Hampshire.
For the MRD, this Saturday’s show is the result of months of planning and weeks of practice. MRD Director, Scott D. Rikkers, and Director of concert and support services, William Posey, started planning the show back in March. Included in the early stages of planning were student drum majors, seniors Crystal DeLoatch, Niki Lendvay, Kevin Elkins and junior Sara Critz, whose help both on and off the field is essential.
“We have over 50 student leaders,” Rikkers said. “It truly is a student-run organization.”
While the planning stages took place in late spring and summer, it wasn’t until the week before classes began that returning members and freshmen hoping to gain a spot in the MRD arrived to audition and practice. Each player was expected to have all of the music memorized when they arrived.
The MRD is comprised of 375 students, each receiving school credit for their time and effort. With such a large group, students are very active in helping put together the show.
“With such a large group, it’s impossible to give everyone individual attention,” Posey said. “Student leaders take charge of different sections and even break those section s into smaller groups.”
Now, with only three weeks of intense practice under their belt, the MRD are ready to show JMU what they’ve got. Saturday’s show will start off with “Festive Overture,” by Dmitri Shostakovich, followed by “Malagueña” with the color guard and Dukettes and will conclude with “Fire of Etneral Glory,” also by Shostakovich and the finale of “Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky.
“We like Latin concert tunes,” Rikkers said of themusical selections.
“We try to find a balance between what the band wants to play and what the crowd wants to hear.”
In addition to this Saturday’s musical line-up, there will be two additional shows this season: an 80s-inspired show as well as a Patriotic-themed show to coincide with Veteran’s Day. New this year for the MRD will be the addition of the newly formed MRD alumni band, which will perform at the last home game.
Putting so many students together takes a lot of effort. With over 150 new members of the MRD, it has taken some adjustment within the band, but nothing they can’t handle.
“We’re going through some good changes this year,” said junior saxophone player Sarah Fultz, who is in her third year with the MRD. “It’s going to be fun.”
Junior saxophone Drill instructor and section leader William Rankin also sees positive changes in this year’s band.
“We sound better and look better than we have in a long time, and we’re only going to get better,” he said. “I think the band is just ready to show off all of the hard work and [large amount] of time we’ve put in the past three weeks.”
Those new to the MRD can hardly wait for Saturday’s game. After weeks of practice, they are ready to hit the field.
“We went down to UNC last weekend, only the Pep Band, but everyone got into it,” said drumline freshman Jeff Shaffer of his first experience with the MRD. “With this first home game - with all 375 of us – it’s going to be crazy.”
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